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Olympic snowboard champion Lindsey Jacobellis is ready to trade her board for a commentator’s microphone, and will join the upcoming NBC announcing team. winter sports in Italy.
The decision marks a significant change for the decorated athlete, who recently welcomed her daughter, Ayla, and has chosen to prioritize her new family life over others. olympics bid.
Jacobellis, 40, whose peerless career includes 31 World Cup titles, six World Championships and two Olympic gold medals, acknowledged the difficulty of stepping away from competing.
“I sat down with my agent, my husband, we discussed the pros and cons,” she said.
“I’m a competitor and I love to compete but there can always be competition. And these early years with my daughter are limited. I had to make a decision. Those decisions are hard. Adulthood is hard.”
She will provide expert analysis for snowboardcross, the discipline she has dominated for more than two decades.
He will be joined on NBC’s action-sports coverage by Todd Harris on play-by-play, Todd Richards for snowboard commentary, Tom Wallisch covering freeskiing and Tina Dixon handling reporting and interviews.
Jacobelli’s Olympic journey began in Italy in 2006, an event famous for the “Lindsay Leap” incident, where she lost the gold medal after falling in celebration.
He finally got his long-awaited gold medal at the last Olympics, finishing second in the mixed team event with Nick Baumgartner. After that victory, he famously declared, “Don’t count the old girl out.”
However, Jacobellis is keen to stress that moving to the booth is not retirement, rejecting the notion that an athlete’s career is entirely defined by four-year Olympic cycles.
“Life doesn’t work that way,” she said. “You adapt to life and buckle down. It’s a call you hear every day.
“I am enjoying learning this new time in my life. I want to enjoy that time. I have given this sport for over 20 years, focusing only on my career and racing. I want to devote at least the first six months to a year to Ayala completely.”