Jamie Anderson won a gold medal for the United States in the women's snowboard slopestyle event during the 2014 Olympics at Sochi. The silver medal for the event went to Enni Rukajarvi of Finland. Bronze went to Jenny Jones of Britain.
Anderson scored 95.25 after landing two 720s during her second run at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014. Her first run had not been impressive, but she more than made up the difference in her second run. Her execution was close to perfection during the women's final.
Victory was even sweeter for Anderson after having hurting her back during a practice run the Wednesday before.
Anderson's track record before the Sochi Olympics hinted strongly at her ability to go on to win the gold. She finished either first or second in 20 of her 24 events in the last three seasons.
She won first place in the Women's Slopestyle Final U.S. Olympic Qualification #5 at the 2014 Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix. This competition was held at Mammoth Mountain Resort in Mammoth, Calif. on Jan. 18, 2014.
Recently at the X Games she "only" came in second. But this did nothing to shake her resolve.
As an athlete, Anderson was excited by the opportunity to compete at the Sochi Olympics. Her confidence in her ability and determination to give it her all stood her in good stead, as she met the challenge and ultimately walked away with the gold medal.
As a well-grounded young woman, she has been able to maintain her balance in situations that the average person could find intensely stressful. She has also seemed to be able to avoid the other extreme, the way of vanity and divahood.
This balancing act is aided by her belief that if she was meant to win, it would happen.
“For my personal journey, I really try to, of course, set my goals high and manifest the best, but also detach from them," Anderson said to Pat Graham, as reported on Canada.com. "I know I’m capable of anything I believe in and I really do believe that I can do well.”
Anderson is a 23 years old from South Lake Tahoe, Calif. She is the fifth of eight children in her family. Her introduction to snowboarding came when some second hand equipment was handed down to her by one of her sisters more than ten years ago.
In an article by Rachel Axon on USAToday.com, Anderson was quoted as saying, "I was really passionate and determined to come out here and do my best and do everything I can to be my strongest and most grounded, calm self, even with the hype of everything on the outside world."
Sources:
Jamie Anderson wins women's slopestyle gold. USAToday.com. Retrieved by Feb. 16, 2-14.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/sochi/2014/02/09/women-slo...
Winter Olympics 2014: Jamie Anderson completes U.S. sweep of slopestyle. CBSNews.com. Retrieved by Feb. 16, 2-14.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/winter-olympics-2014-jamie-anderson-complete...
Britain's first snow queen: Joy for Jones as her snowboarding bronze makes history. Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved by Feb. 16, 2-14.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/winterolympics/article-2555064/Winter-O...
Snowboard slopestyle rider Jamie Anderson has mixed feelings on Olympics heading into Sochi. Canada.com. Retrieved by Feb. 16, 2-14.
http://www.canada.com/olympics/news/snowboard-slopestyle-rider-jamie-and...
Olympic Hopeful Jamie Anderson on Snowboarding, Nintendo Wii U Gaming
https://www.empowher.com/fitness/content/olympic-hopeful-jamie-anderson-...
Visit Jody's website at http://www.ncubator.ca
Reviewed February 18, 2014
by Michele Blacksberg RN