The best part about qualifying for his second Winter Olympic Games for Pinckney’s Jake Vedder is that he’s not going alone.
When Vedder competed in snowboard cross at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the world was in a very different place. Because of COVID restrictions that limited the number of spectators, his family was unable to travel to China.
When Vedder races on Feb. 12 in Italy, his support system will there cheering for him in person instead of from half a world away in front of television screens.
In fact, his family has rarely had the opportunity to watch Vedder compete as he’s traveled the globe for nearly a decade as one of the world’s best snowboarders.
“We’re a smalltown family,” Vedder told the Livingston Daily. “It’s not like we were raised on money. We come from a hard-working family. For them to come to Europe to experience something I’m grateful to see all the time and competing at the highest level, my dad said, ‘This is a dream come true.’ It hits different for him and the whole family.
“Everyone is super excited. I’m at ease knowing my family gets to see me compete on the world stage, the biggest event in the world in sports. We’re going to celebrate.”
RELATED: Pinckney snowboarder Jake Vedder named to second Olympic team
RELATED: Pinckney Olympian Jake Vedder grateful for support he received back home in 2022
Vedder was among four men selected to the United States snowboard cross team. Four years ago, he was chosen to the Olympic team as an injury replacement for 2014 bronze medalist Alex Deibold.
Athletes are chosen based on performances in World Cup events over the past year. The final qualifying event was Sunday, Jan. 18 in China. He didn’t meet some of the tougher criteria (top three in the world, top 10 in the World Cup standings, top three in an event), but made the team based on the body of his work. Vedder ranks 16th in the World Cup standings, second among Americans behind 11th-place Nathan Pare.
“It was a straight nerve-breaking time,” Vedder said. “Those last two weeks, I was in a really good spot. Coming down to the wire, I needed to perform and I needed to have a couple other guys not beat me. The best way for me to do it was to just do it myself. It literally came down to the last race Sunday. My consistency was really what held me in the game.”
Vedder will head to Italy hoping to improve on a strong showing in Beijing. He finished sixth out of 32 competitors in men’s snowboard cross and ninth in mixed snowboard cross with Faye Gulini. The top two Americans in men’s and women’s snowboard cross will compete in the mixed event on Feb. 15.
“The goal, honestly, when you make the team is to come home with some hardware,” Vedder said. “I know I’m capable of making it happen. In the last Olympics, I was one mistake away from the final four, which would have qualified me to get some hardware. I haven’t been on the podium (top three) in two years.
“I’m due for it. I’m hungry. I know I perform at big events. My history shows from the Olympics, World Championships, Youth Olympics and Worlds, in any big event I’ve performed. I’m honing in on that confidence and trusting my abilities.”
At the age of 27, Vedder potentially has more good years left in him. One of his teammates in Italy will be Nick Baumgartner, a 44-year-old from Iron Mountain who made his fifth Olympic team.
But Vedder, who is engaged and has a marketing career outside of his sport, will have a tough decision to make when he returns from the Olympics. He plans to finish the World Cup season, but is unsure of his future in snowboarding after that.
“I would say I’m leaning more toward this being it than sticking around for longer,” he said. “We do have World Championships next year. There’s a few key things my team and coaches want me to stick around for.
“It’s a lot. What it really takes and the commitment level, not just from myself, but I’m now engaged and have a fiancé. I’m excited to start a family some day, just live a normal life. I know I’d miss some of the craziness of my life I’m in now. It’s been 12 straight years of six months a year traveling away from home, airplanes, hotels, competitive stress, pressure. It’s like I don’t even know what a different life is.”
If this ends up being Vedder’s final appearance in the Winter Olympics, he’s already exceeded his wildest expectations.
“If you told 15-year-old Jake he’d be a two-time Olympian, he wouldn’t believe you,” Vedder said. “To become an Olympian was always a dream, but also kind of a long shot just coming from Pinckney.”
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Being 2-time Olympian exceeds expectations for Pinckney’s Jake Vedder
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
