Dissed: Olympic Snowboarders Still Irked By Secondary Status
Jan 28, 2022, 11:34 AM
Shaun White of Team United States takes a training run for the Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe competition at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain on January 07, 2022 in Mammoth, California. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — More than 20 years after their sport was brought into the Olympics to give the Games a more vibrant feel, snowboarders still feel like second-class citizens.
The Associated Press interviewed a number of gold medalists and industry executives, all of whom say they haven’t seen much improvement in the way their sport is treated once it gets to the biggest stage in sports.
"I've found that new energy in me for contest snowboarding."
USA's Red Gerard 🇺🇸 reveals how he has matured since winning Olympic gold, and why he's never been so determined to win.@TeamUSA | @usskiteam | @redgerard pic.twitter.com/frcoeNeQAk
— Olympics (@Olympics) January 22, 2022
Some of that, they say, is due to the uncomfortable relationship between snowboarding and the International Ski Federation, which runs the sport at the Olympic level.
Still bothering many of the riders is the way the slopestyle contests went down at the Pyeongchang Games four years ago.
The women’s contest was held in windy, subpar conditions while across the mountain the Alpine race was called off.
