If you’ve been keeping up with the 2018 Olympics, you’ve undoubtedly heard of Red Gerard. He is a 17-year-old American snowboarder who was born and raised in Ohio (though he later moved to Colorado). Gerard mainly competes in big air and slopestyle events. Recently, Red Gerard has gone viral for his Gold Medal win. He ended up waking up late the morning of the event, was unable to locate his jacket, and still went on to receive the highest honor an Olympic snowboarder can get. You may have also seen his live TV slip-up — he cursed on the air in front of millions of people out of excitement after bringing home the Gold. This snowboarder is a pretty cool kid. He has an awesome backstory and is definitely worth learning more about. Before you catch any more Olympic events, take a minute to check out these Five Things You Didn’t Know about Red Gerard.
His Family Knows How to Party
It is befitting of a guy famous for snowboarding to come from a family that knows how to cut loose. In fact, they sent him a Snapchat right before his big win that showed them “shotgunning” some beers. They must have started celebrating early due to their confidence in the young snowboarder — and they have to be incredibly proud of Red for his Olympic win.
His Backyard Is a Snowboarding Park
At Red Gerard’s Colorado home, he and his brothers set up some rails and a dirt bike-powered tow rope to use as a makeshift snowboarding course. This is where Red learned all of his incredible skills. It is a pretty tight course, so it was also great for developing quick reflexes. Plus, Red’s backyard is known to the neighborhood kids as the prime spot to go snowboarding — they don’t even have to check with him before they use his course.
He’s the Youngest American Man to Win a Gold In 90 Years
The last young American teenager to bring home an Olympic Gold Medal was Billy Fiske, a bobsledder who competed in the 1928 Olympics. Red Gerard thus set a record for his win — which was a close one. In fact, he was in 11th place before his spectacular winning third run. He shot to first after this great show of talent — making him the youngest American Gold Medalist in 90 years, and the youngest American snowboarder to win a Gold in all of history.
He Started Snowboarding at a Young Age
When Red Gerard was only two years old, he asked to start snowboarding. Just two weeks later, he started to get the hang of the slopes and began showing incredible promise. According to his older brother Brendan, it became quite evident that he would make waves in the sport as soon as he turned six years old. His natural talent is undeniable — but it was bolstered by years of hard work.
He Won 87 Burritos from Chipotle
According to a tweet from Chipotle, the company was quite impressed with Red’s Olympic performance. They even said, “you earned the gold, let us bring the silver”, and offered him 87 free burritos for him and his friends. If Red continues his snowboarding career after this year’s Olympics — which is pretty much a sure thing — he might even be able to score his very own corporate sponsor by talking to the executives at Chipotle.
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