Winter Olympics: Redemption for Lindsey Jacobellis as world gets ready for Chen v Hanyu II – Best of Beijing

BEST MOMENTS OF DAY 5 A fairytale of redemption Ad/> There is something unavoidably compelling about watching someone’s dreams unravel on the biggest stage. Unless your name is Lindsey Jacobellis and you realise just how much it hurts. Beijing 2022Don’t panic! Team GB could still achieve record Winter Olympic medal haul2 HOURS AGO Sixteen years ago, as we’re sure you’re now aware, the American was leading the snowboard cross final at the Turin Olympics.

No one could stop her winning gold. But as she flew up the penultimate ramp, a voice whispered in her head – “go on, do a trick, everyone will love it.” She listened. It was a big mistake.

The resulting crash and Tanja Frieden’s comical celebrations went viral, long before going viral was officially a thing. Jacobellis was left with a silver medal and so begun her journey of Olympic heartbreak. Four years later in Vancouver, she was disqualified in the semi-finals.

She went again at Sochi, this time crashing in the semi-finals, and while she fared better in PyeongChang and briefly led in the final, she ultimately fell away to finish fourth. But then beautiful Beijing came along and changed everything. As she led into the final jumps and her brain screamed at her “DO IT AGAIN, LINDSEY”, she ignored the voice, played it safe and completed one of the greatest stories in sporting history aged 36.

«I guess five times is the charm and how it needed to be. You never know why. I was always still hungry for it, always still loved racing,» she said afterwards.

It brought an end to the longest drought for Team USA in Olympics history and restoked the fire of anyone in their 30s still clinging onto that sporting dream. Including us, unfortunately. Shiffrin struggles It was hyped as