Jacobellis redeems Turin heartbreak with Beijing gold
Zhangjiakou, China, Feb 9 (EFE).- American Lindsey Jacobellis on Wednesday struck gold in the snowboard cross at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics to make up for her heartbreak 16 years ago when an error after a premature showboat in Turin saw her settle for silver.
It was Team USA’s first gold in Beijing and a long time coming for the highly decorated 36-year-old.
At the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, Jacobellis carved out a comfortable lead in the snowboard cross but her decision to prematurely celebrate her seemingly assured victory with a method grab on the final jump went awry with a failed landing that saw her come second.
Things were different for the five-times world champion at the course in Zhangjiakou on Wednesday however as the Connecticut native successfully fended off competition from France’s Chloe Trespeuch and Canadian Meryera O’Dine, who took silver and bronze respectively.
It was Jacobellis’ fifth Winter Games. After her disaster in Turin, she failed to make the podium in Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014 and missed out by milliseconds in PyeongChang four years ago. EFE
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