Snowboarding-Old is gold, Americans say experience counts at Games

ZHANGJIAKOU, China : Lindsey Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner have been competing with athletes half their age in the team snowboarding cross event at the Beijing Games but the U.S. veterans proved nothing beats experience by winning gold in a nail-biting final.

Jacobellis, 36, and 40-year-old Baumgartner edged out Italy to win the top prize in the inaugural mixed team event, while Canada settled for bronze.

Italy's team consisted of Omar Visintin, 32, and Michela Moioli, 26, while Canada fielded 20-year-old Eliot Grondin and Meryeta O'Dine, 24.

Baumgartner admitted that it had been "tough" to watch younger athletes take over the sport and that he had struggled with feelings of being pushed out of the field.

However, he also used those feelings as motivation.

"As you get older, you grow and you know so much about yourself. For me ... you get hungry. You want more because you know that there's an expiration day that's coming," he told reporters after the final.

Being older than his rivals had also pushed him to train and compete even harder than his younger rivals.

Jacobellis, who made a surprise comeback at the women's snowboard cross final this week and won the first gold for the United States at the Beijing Games, said the pair's age and experience had helped them, not held them back.

Jacobellis said they were able to navigate the many variables of the final like weather, course condition and other competitors because of they had competed so many times in the past.

"It takes years to understand how to best execute certain situations," Jacobellis said.

Baumgartner agreed.

"We've been through so many heats and that's what allows us to stay competitive for so long," he added.

Asked if they planned to defend their title at the