{"id":731744,"date":"2026-01-30T22:42:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T22:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/731744\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T22:42:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T22:42:14","slug":"team-usas-oldest-athlete-is-a-44-year-old-snowboarder-who-trains-on-a-backyard-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/731744\/","title":{"rendered":"Team USA’s Oldest Athlete Is a 44-Year-Old Snowboarder Who Trains on a Backyard Track"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

There will be no shortage of feel-good stories, <\/strong>comeback stories, and stories of triumph shared over the upcoming 16 days of Olympic competition in Italy. But if you can find a place taking wagers on NBC telling you all about 44-year-old snowboarder Nick Baumgartner\u2019s<\/a> DIY backyard pumptrack, you should absolutely bet the house on it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t actually bet the house on anything, please. But do let me know if you do find that prop bet. I\u2019d throw a lot of my own money at the likelihood that producers are already editing hours of footage from the gold medalist\u2019s self-made backyard playground. Baumgartner, a snowboard cross athlete, is Team USA\u2019s oldest Olympian at 44, and he seems to play age to his advantage, at least on a motivational and mental level.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s touted himself as \u201cthe old guy you shouldn\u2019t count out,\u201d <\/a>understanding that his age is the exact reason his competition could overlook him. At 40, he won Olympic gold in mixed snowboard cross with U.S. teammate Lindsey Jacobellis in Beijing \u2014 a decade removed from reaching the snowboard cross podium at Winter X and five years removed from gold at the FIS World Championships.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure there\u2019s a few of them (competitors) that do the same amount of work as me, and they\u2019re doing everything that they can, but no one\u2019s outworking me,\u201d Baumgartner says. No need to look any further than the Michigan native\u2019s backyard for proof of that statement, which brings us to another part of his story Olympic broadcasters are going to love sharing with us: the track is Nick\u2019s personal training facility which he built with his own two hands, \u00a0a snowblower, a shovel, and a chainsaw. He says he does at least 10 laps a day on the course.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such an incredible workout, and then I have a track right outside my door when it\u2019s done, but more than anything, it turns pressure into play,\u201d he says. \u201cInstead of stressing, I feel like an eight-year-old kid building a snow fort, grinning the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n