Livigno – Austria’s Alessandro Haemmerle won his second straight gold medal in snowboard cross at the Winter Olympics on Thursday.
Eliot Grondin of Canada was also the repeat silver medalist and Austria’s Jakob Dusek claimed the bronze.
Nick Baumgartner of Iron River, Michigan, at 44 the event’s oldest rider, finished in seventh place, an improvement from his 10th place finish four years ago. He is competing in his fifth Olympics.
Jake Vedder of Pinckney, Michigan, was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Haemmerle edged Grondin at the finish line on the 1.1 km (0.7 mile) course in the Alpine town of Livigno. Light snow fell during much of the race. At the medal ceremony, the 32-year-old Haemmerle sang along to the Austrian national anthem, closed his eyes and tilted his head toward the sky as he clutched his medal.
Snowboard cross features high-speed races between four riders down a winding course filled with bumps and jumps. Winners are determined by fractions of a second.
The sport is known for being unpredictable with competitors often knocking into each other and crashing. Two German riders tumbled out of contention during the quarterfinals. Reigning bronze medalist Omar Visintin of Italy, 36, was knocked out in the first elimination round in his home country.
Brothers Aidan and Jonas Chollet of France both had shots at the podium. Aidan Chollet, 21, landed fourth and Jonas Chollet, 17, was sixth.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan’s Nick Baumgartner misses out on medal in snowboard cross
Reporting by Reuters, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
