Lindsey Jacobellis wins first US gold medal at Beijing Olympics

Snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis on Wednesday won the United States’ first gold medal of the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Jacobellis beat out Meryeta O’Dine of Canada, who took home a bronze medal, in her snowboardcross final and received a treasured Bing Dwen Dwen stuffed animal at the post-race ceremony, according to The Associated Press.

“This feels incredible because the level that all the women are riding at today is so much higher than it was 16 years ago,” she said.

Jacobellis, 36, is the oldest American woman to win a gold medal in the winter Games. She is competing in her fifth Olympics, with Wednesday’s win marking her first gold medal since 2006, the AP noted.

During the 2006 Turin Games, Jacobellis had a massive lead but ended up taking home a silver medal after she slipped during a showboating final jump, Reuters reported.

“They can keep talking about it all they want,” Jacobellis reportedly said of her 2006 run. “Because it really shaped me into the individual that I am. It kept me hungry and really kept me fighting in this sport.”

Since 2007, Jacobellis has been at the World Cup podium 45 times, taking away gold 23 of those times. Entering this year’s Games, she had two third-place finishes, the AP reported.

“It doesn’t define you,” she told the news service when asked what she would say to younger racers about past mistakes. “Especially if you’ve made it to this stage, you’re a winner. And look at what you’ve learned from the experience, and take that with you later in life.”

–Updated at 9:29 a.m.