A Look At 7 Seasoned Team USA Winter Athletes Who Excelled In Beijing

Shaun White reacts after the men's snowboard halfpipe finals at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Feb. 11, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China.

 

Sport: Snowboarding
Olympic Games: Five
Results in Beijing: Fourth in halfpipe


Team USA had four athletes competing in Beijing at their fifth Olympic Winter Games, and White was the youngest of the bunch at 35-years-old. In the halfpipe though, he was the oldest snowboarder competing. But that didn’t stop him from throwing down runs impressive enough to earn him a spot in the finals. In fact, for the last five Games, there hasn’t been a Winter Olympics halfpipe final without this seasoned snowboarder. His fourth-place finish in Beijing capped off a remarkable career, which began at the Olympic Winter Games Torino 2006 when the 19-year-old won his first gold medal. He has the most Olympic gold medals won by a snowboarder and has never finished lower than fourth place.

Sport: Bobsled
Olympic Games: Four (The first three she competed for Team Canada)
Results in Beijing: Gold in monobob and 7th in 2-woman bobsled 


The Canadian-born bobsledder went into the Beijing Games as a new U.S. citizen and left as a new — and the only — monobob Olympic champion. After competing for Team Canada for the past three Winter Olympics — where she won two golds and a bronze — Humphries got her American citizenship at the end of 2021. Her gold medal in monobob for Team USA made her the first woman to earn Olympic Winter Games medals for two different nations. She also competed in Beijing in the two-woman bobsled, where she finished seventh. Humphries plans to close out her 20-year Olympic career at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

Lindsey Jacobellis reacts after winning the gold medal in the women's snowboard cross big final at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Feb. 9, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China.

 

Sport: Snowboarding
Olympic Games: Five
Results in Beijing: Gold in women’s snowboard cross and gold in the mixed team event


The women’s snowboard cross saw Jacobellis winning the first gold of the Games for Team USA and her substantial career. The 36-year-old has been on track to take the top spot on the podium since the Torino Games. In 2006 — ahead in the finals — she took an early celebratory board grab, which led to a stumble and the silver medal. The oldest female Winter Olympic gold medalist for Team USA won her second gold with the oldest U.S. Olympian competing in Beijing, Nick Baumgartner. The two took the top spot on the podium in the Olympic debut of the snowboard cross team event.

Sport: Skeleton
Olympic Games: Five
Results in Beijing: Sixth in women’s skeleton


The oldest woman competing on behalf of Team USA was the Breckenridge, Colorado, native who finished seventh in Beijing, marking her third top-10 Olympic finish. Her closest chance at the podium was at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, when she was in fourth place. At the Torino Winter Games in 2006, at her first Olympics, she had the sixth-best time. Having made plans to retire after Beijing and earn a college degree, Uhlaender pushed hard for a medal that has eluded her all these years. But she does leave the sport with the title of the only U.S. woman to compete in five Olympics in a sliding sport and the oldest U.S. skeleton athlete to compete at a Games.

 

(L-R) Elana Meyers Taylor and Sylvia Hoffman during the flower ceremony following the 2-woman bobsled finals at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Feb. 19, 2022 in Yanqing, China.

 

Sport: Bobsled
Olympic Games: Four
Results in Beijing: Silver in the monobob and bronze in the 2-woman bobsled


The most decorated Black athlete at a Winter Games was crowned in Beijing after Meyers Taylor earned gold and bronze in women’s bobsled, giving her a combined career haul of five Olympic medals (three silvers and two bronze). After finishing second in the Olympic debut of monobob, she became the most decorated Olympic bobsledder in U.S. history. Days later, the oldest driver in the competition earned another podium finish, taking bronze in the two-woman event. Before leaving Beijing, the trailblazer — who set new track records in both her events — was awarded one final honor: she was chosen as the Closing Ceremony flag bearer for Team USA, the first bobsled athlete selected since Brian Shimer in 2002. 

Sport: Curling
Olympic Games: Five
Results in Beijing: Fourth in men’s curling


Of the athletes making their fifth Games appearance, the oldest of the four started his Beijing experience as U.S. flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony — the first curling athlete to ever carry the flag. Looking to defend the men’s gold medal from the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, a tough loss in the semis left the team just shy of the podium. The U.S. has won two curling medals, and the U.S. skip was a part of both teams — including a bronze at Torino 2006. He plans to try again in 2026 for his sixth consecutive Winter Olympics, a feat that only Norway’s Torger Nergård has achieved.

Nick Baumgartner celebrates winning the gold medal after the snowboard cross mixed team event at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Feb. 12, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China.

 

Sport: Snowboarding
Olympic Games: Four
Results in Beijing: Gold in the mixed team event and 10th in men’s snowboard cross


After four Winter Games — and at 40 years of age — the oldest U.S. Olympian competing in Beijing got his time on the podium. Winning the snowboard cross mixed team event with Jacobellis as his teammate, the two most senior people on the U.S. snowboard team claimed their first golds together. Winning the Olympic debut of the event also made Baumgartner the oldest snowboarder to earn a medal at an Olympic Winter Games. His first event in Beijing was the men’s snowboard cross, where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals to end in 10th overall. He has competed in the event at the last five Games, just missing a medal in PyeongChang with a fourth-place finish.

 

Lisa Costantini is a freelance writer based in Orlando. She has covered Olympic and Paralympic sports for various publications, and has contributed to TeamUSA.org since 2011.