Winter Olympics Games 2022
Jacobellis ends 16-year wait to clinch gold in Beijing
After suffering heartbreak at Turin 2006, Lindsey Jacobellis managed to make amends with gold in Beijing 16 years later, winning the snowboard cross.
Lindsey Jacobellis earned redemption with Winter Olympics gold in the women's snowboard cross final at Beijing 2022 after missing out on top spot 16 years earlier.
Turin disappointment
Jacobellis dominated at Turin 2006 but fell on the penultimate jump, meaning she had to settle for silver. The gap of 16 years between her first and second Olympic medals is the largest gap between two medals for a snowboarder.
The American made amends on Wednesday as the most decorated snowboard cross athlete of all-time added the only title she was missing to her six world championships, two Crystal Globes and 10 X Games triumphs.
But the 36-year-old insisted that she did not use her 16-year wait as motivation for redemption after managing first place at Genting Snow Park. "I never thought of it that way," she said. "That was not in my mind. I wanted to just come here and compete. It would have been a nice, sweet thing, but if I had tried to spend [time on] the thought of redemption, then it's taking away focus on the task at hand, and that's not why I race. They can keep talking about it all they want because it really shaped me into the individual that I am, kept me hungry and really helped me keep fighting in the sport."
There were plenty of other stars breaking records in China and Stats Perform has taken a look at some of the numbers behind their stories.
36 years, 174 days – Jacobellis is the oldest snowboard gold medallist and oldest USA female gold medallist at the Olympic Winter Games.
2 – Birk Ruud claimed gold in the men’s freeski big air to become the youngest Norwegian Olympic medallist in freestyle skiing (21 years, 313 days). He is also just the second freestyle skier to win a gold medal at both the Youth Olympic Winter Games and the Olympic Winter Games.
3 – Hwang Daeheon became the third man to win a gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games and the Youth Olympic Winter Games (1000m at Lillehammer 2016).
1 – Petra Vlhova's gold medal was the first for Slovakia in Olympic Alpine skiing, and only the ninth in any sport, seven of which have been won by Slovakian women.
5 – Tobias Arlt and Tobias Wendl won their third consecutive gold medal in luge doubles, their fifth Olympic medal overall, equalling the Olympic best in the sport set by their countrywoman Natalie Geisenberger.
3 – Vinzenz Geiger made himself the third athlete to win multiple Olympic gold medals in Nordic combined for Germany, who have collected four consecutive golds in the event.