Olympic Snowboarding in the Winter Olympics
In 1998, snowboarding joined the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Snowboarding is one of five newer sports added to the Winter Olympic Program between 1992 and 2002, and it is also the only event between that time to not have a previous medal or demonstration.
Since then, the sport has gained 10 new sporting events including the Giant Parallel Slalom and the Half-Pipe. These events are split up into a men's, women's, and mixed section to judge the abilities of each competitor. The 8 riders who competed for the U. S. were Chloe Kim, Maddie Mastro, Zoe Kalapos, Tessa Maud, Taylor Gold, Shaun White, Chase Josey, and Lucas Foster. From this team, Kim and White were the only two defending gold medalists to advance to the half-pipe finals at the 2022 Beijing Games. White's run on the half-pipe ended in a fall and with fourth place. Kim advanced into 1st place, guaranteeing her a spot in the final. Kim's history of snowboarding is just as interesting as the sport. She began snowboarding at age four and began competing at six. In 2014, Kim qualified for the Sochi Olympic Games at 13, although she was told she was too young to go. Her teammate Shaun White won Olympic gold medals on the half-pipe in 2006, 2010, and 2018. This addition of snowboarding into the Winter Olympics proved how encouraging and important it is to younger and older athletes. Snowboarding is a sport that can be learned and enjoyed by everyone.
St. Francis High School
2130 W. Roosevelt Road, Wheaton, IL 60187
Phone (630) 668-5800
Fax (630) 668-5893
Phone (630) 668-5800
Fax (630) 668-5893
