The Team USA snowcross rider who won gold at the 2022 Games is at his fifth Olympics.
WASHINGTON — Four years ago, Team USA’s Nick Baumgartner stood atop the Olympic podium in mixed team snowcross. His chase for a second Olympic gold, this time in the individual event, didn’t go the way he wanted, but that doesn’t mean he’s done with the sport.
Baumgartner, 44, reached the snowboard cross semifinals Thursday before being eliminated at the Milan Cortina Games. In each heat of four athletes, only the top two advanced to the finals, and Baumgartner placed third in a photo finish behind Alessandro Haemmerle of Austria.
Haemmerle, the defending gold medalist in the individual event, went on to win gold. He was followed by Canada’s Eliot Grondin with silver and fellow Austrian Jakob Dusek with bronze.
Baumgartner finished seventh. Afterward, he talked about the race and his future in the sport.
“If you find something you love, it doesn’t matter how much work you have to put in,” he said in an interview with NBC. “You’re happy to do it, and I’ll continue to do it because I love what I do. … I never had so much fun losing in my life. It’s a great time. I get to represent my country and have fun with my friends.”
Baumgartner is among a rare group of Team USA athletes who are at their fifth Olympics. When asked what’s next, he addressed a comment he heard on the broadcast suggested this could be was his last Olympics.
“It’s absolutely not,” he said, setting the record straight.
“Until I’m not having fun or until the body steps in and says you’re done, I’m going to continue to put the work in and I’m going to continue to redefine what people think is possible,” he said.