Olympics-Snowboard-Baumgartner 'so prepared' to compete in fourth Games

ZHANGJIAKOU, China (Reuters) - U.S. snowboarding veteran Nick Baumgartner said he felt "so prepared" to compete in Beijing, his fourth Olympic Games.

Baumgartner said he was confident about the upcoming event though racing would be "tight" given the jump was a lot smaller and the course flatter than at Pyeongchang in 2018.

He finished fourth in the snowboard cross at the Pyeongchang Winter Games.

"I definitely looked and prepared for this Olympics a lot different than I did at any other one," said the 40-year-old, the oldest member of the U.S. snowboard team.

"At all the other Olympics, I showed no sign of ending my career any time soon ... I made sacrifices, did all things I could and trained harder than I ever had. I feel so prepared coming into this game," he said..

The men's snowboard cross event kicks off on Feb. 10.

(Reporting by Winni Zhou and Mari Saito; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)