The United States get their first gold medal of the 2018 Winter Games and it comes from a Colorado local in the snowboard slopestyle, who also is the youngest to medal in Olympic snowboarding.
Silverthorne’s Red Gerard won gold in the Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle event at the PyeongChang winter Olympics. Gerard becomes the youngest Olympic snowboarder to win the gold medal at the age of 17.
17-year-old Red Gerard is the second-youngest American man to win a Winter Olympic gold medal, and the youngest since 1928 (16-year-old Billy Fiske in Bobsled).#PyeongChang2018 pic.twitter.com/ewdsertIkZ
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 11, 2018
Gerard made mistakes in his first two finals runs, but produced a tremendous third run, which was rewarded by the event judges, as Gerard utilized much of the course that many avoided due to difficulty. Gerard finished off his final run with a clean backside triple-cork 1440, sealing his spot at the top of the podium.
Canada would finish with silver and bronze, with Max Parrot in second and Mark McMorris in third.
Gerard competes under the Burton Global team and previously placed first in slopestyle at the 2017 FIS World Cup. Gerard began snowboarding at the age of 2 and has his own trick park in his backyard.
It’s the second slopestyle gold in two tries for the Americans after Sage Kotsenburg won gold in the Sochi games in 2014.
