Lindsey Jacobellis

Lindsey Jacobellis (born August 19, 1985) is an American snowboarder from Roxbury, Connecticut.[1] The most decorated female snowboard cross athlete of all time,[2] she dominated the sport for almost two decades as a five-time World Champion and ten-time X Games champion. In her Olympic debut at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Jacobellis won the silver medal in snowboard cross but was unable to medal at the next three Olympics until winning gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.[3] Jacobellis also won gold (with teammate Nick Baumgartner) in mixed team snowboard cross at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.[4]

Lindsey Jacobellis
Jacobellis in 2010
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1985-08-19) August 19, 1985
Danbury, Connecticut, U.S.
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportSnowboarding
Event(s)Snowboard cross, halfpipe
Coached byPeter Foley
Achievements and titles
World finals Gold medal at the 2005 World Championships in Whistler
Gold medal at the 2007 World Championships in Arosa
Gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in La Molina
Gold Medal at the 2015 World Championships in Kreischberg
Gold Medal at the 2017 World Championships in Sierra Nevada
Olympic finals Gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing
Highest world ranking1st in Snowboard Cross World Cup (2007, 2009)
Medal record
Women's snowboarding
Representing the  United States
International snowboarding competitions
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 2 1 0
World Championships 6 0 2
Winter X Games 10 1 1
Junior World Championships 2 0 0
Total 20 2 3
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Beijing Snowboard cross
Gold medal – first place 2022 Beijing Mixed team snowboard cross
Silver medal – second place 2006 Turin Snowboard cross
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Whistler Snowboard cross
Gold medal – first place 2007 Arosa Snowboard cross
Gold medal – first place 2011 La Molina Snowboard cross
Gold medal – first place 2015 Kreischberg Snowboard cross
Gold medal – first place 2017 Sierra NevadaSnowboard cross
Gold medal – first place2019 UtahMixed team snowboard cross
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Sierra NevadaTeam snowboard cross
Bronze medal – third place2023 BakurianiSnowboard cross
Winter X Games
Gold medal – first place 2003 Aspen Snowboard cross
Gold medal – first place 2004 Aspen Snowboard cross
Gold medal – first place 2005 Aspen Snowboard cross
Gold medal – first place 2008 Aspen Snowboard cross
Gold medal – first place 2009 Aspen Snowboard cross
Gold medal – first place 2010 Aspen Snowboard cross
Gold medal – first place 2011 Aspen Snowboard cross
Gold medal – first place 2014 Aspen Snowboard cross
Gold medal – first place 2015 Aspen Snowboard cross
Gold medal – first place 2016 Aspen Snowboard cross
Silver medal – second place 2007 Aspen Snowboard cross
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Aspen Slopestyle
Junior World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2002 Rovaniemi Snowboard cross
Gold medal – first place 2003 Prato NevosoHalfpipe

Early life

Jacobellis was born in Danbury, Connecticut and grew up in Danbury and southern Vermont, where her family had a weekend home. Her parents, Ben and Anita Jacobellis encouraged her and her older brother Ben to participate in many sports. She was competitive from a young age, constantly trying to keep up with Ben or her father on the slopes.[5] As a young child, she was primarily a skier, but she switched to snowboarding after the family's home burned when she was 8, destroying all her gear. She explains the switch by saying, "We couldn't afford to buy all new ski equipment; we could only afford to buy snowboards." She attended Vermont's Stratton Mountain School, a college preparatory high school with a sports focus on training winter athletes, graduating in 2003. She was the only girl racing in snowboard cross and says that competing against boys influenced how she approached the sport.[6]

Sports career

Jacobellis has snowboarded competitively in snowboard cross, snowboard slopestyle, and snowboard halfpipe competitions.[7]

Early career

At the 2003 Winter X Games, Jacobellis won bronze in slopestyle.[7]

She made her Olympic debut at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, making her first Olympic final in the process. During the snowboard cross final, Jacobellis was approaching the end of the course with a 43-meter (140 ft), three-second lead over Tanja Frieden of Switzerland. On the second-to-last jump, Jacobellis attempted a celebratory method grab, landed on the edge of her snowboard, and fell.[8] Frieden passed her to win the gold; Jacobellis recovered and settled for silver. In televised interviews, Jacobellis initially said the grab was meant to maintain stability, but later said that "I was having fun. Snowboarding is fun, and I wanted to share my enthusiasm with the crowd".[9][10]

At the 2007 Winter X Games, Jacobellis lost the lead in a fall near the finish line in snowboard cross.

She dropped halfpipe from her competition schedule in 2008 due to increasing injuries.[7] Jacobellis regained the gold medal in snowboard cross at Winter X Games XII in 2008.

2010–2013

Jacobellis failed to progress to the medal round of snowboard cross at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, as early in her semifinal race, she landed badly during a jump, and to avoid a collision with another rider, went through a gate, resulting in automatic disqualification; she then slid off the course. She ended up 5th in the standings.[11]

In 2011, Jacobellis won her fourth straight gold in snowboard cross at the Winter X Games, adding to her gold medals in 2008, 2009, and 2010.[12]

2014–2017

Jacobellis failed to progress to the medal round of snowboard cross at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. She was leading the semifinal race when she crashed. She finished in 7th place in the overall standings.[13]

At the 2015 World Championship, Jacobellis won gold in snowboard cross. She also won the 2017 World Championship and finished with a silver and two golds in the first World Cup races of the 2017–2018 season.

The New York Times reported that in the period between the 2014 and 2018 Olympics, in addition to her training, surfing, and other competition strategies, Jacobellis also began working with the mental skills coach Denise Shull.[14]

2018–present

At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Jacobellis made her second Olympic snowboard cross final. After leading most of the way, she missed the podium by .003 seconds, finishing in 4th place.[15]

In her fifth Olympics, Jacobellis finally became the Olympic champion in snowboard cross at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. This was the first gold medal for the US in Beijing, ending a five-day gold medal drought. Various media outlets lauded her perseverance in winning after a sixteen-year chase for Olympic gold.[16][17] Jacobellis followed up her individual gold by winning the debut of the mixed team snowboard cross with partner Nick Baumgartner.[18][19]

Television

Jacobellis appeared on a charity edition of MTVs The Challenge, titled The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros. She competed to raise money for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She finished as the runner-up with her teammate in the final challenge, Kamerion Wimbley.[20][21]

In addition to her athletic skill, she is known for her naturally curly hair and is sponsored by hair care brand Paul Mitchell.[22]

References
  1. Team USA profile
  2. "Medals update: Fifth time the charm for Lindsey Jacobellis in Beijing 2022 women's snowboard cross final". Olympics.com. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  3. Branch, John (February 9, 2022). "Long Known for a Blunder, Jacobellis Rewrites Her Story in Gold". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  4. Team USA [@TeamUSA] (February 11, 2022). "DYNAMIC DUO GETS IT DONE 🙌 @LindsJacobellis and @nickbaumgartner win gold in the first-ever Olympic mixed team snowboard cross event. #WinterOlympics t.co/E8hHoCIEpx" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022 – via Twitter.
  5. Adams, Jonathan (February 15, 2018). "Lindsey Jacobellis' Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  6. Abrami, Alex (February 9, 2022). "Lindsey Jacobellis, US's first gold medalist of the Beijing Olympics, has Vermont ties". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  7. Aimee Berg (March 28, 2013). "Where Have You Gone, Lindsey Jacobellis?". Team USA. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014.
  8. "Olympics on Yahoo! Sports – News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  9. Gaillard, Eric (February 17, 2006). "Jacobellis loses shot at gold with stumble". MSNBC. Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 20, 2010. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
  10. Sally Jenkins (February 18, 2006). "Jacobellis Biffs It". Washington Post.
  11. John Branch (February 16, 2010). "Redemption, but Not for Jacobellis". New York Times.
  12. Devon O'Neil (January 11, 2011). "Jacobellis four-peats in Snowboarder X". ESPN.
  13. John Branch (February 16, 2014). "Lindsey Jacobellis Again Comes Up Short in Snowboard Cross". New York Times.
  14. Branch, John (February 14, 2018). "The Haunting of Lindsey Jacobellis". The New York Times.
  15. Nate Peterson (February 15, 2018). "Snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis falls short again at Winter Olympics, finishes fourth". CBS Sports.
  16. "The U.S. Waited Six Days for a Gold Medal. Lindsey Jacobellis Waited 16 Years". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  17. "Long Known for a Blunder, Jacobellis Rewrites Her Story in Gold". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  18. Branch, John; Tumin, Remy (February 12, 2022). "Lindsey Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner win the debut of mixed team snowboard cross". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  19. TODAY, USA. "Winter Olympics live updates: Lindsey Jacobellis, Nick Baumgartner win gold; US faces Canada in men's hockey". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  20. Barnes, Katie (April 24, 2017). "Preview of MTV series The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros". ESPN. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  21. Donnelly, Matthew Scott (June 20, 2017). "Who Was The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros' MVP?". MTV. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  22. "What Olympic Snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis Uses on Her Curly Hair". Naturally Curly. February 15, 2018.
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