Wescott overcomes adversity to win gold

By Matt Boxler

When Seth Wescott started racing snowboardcross, he never imagined he’d be competing in the Olympic Games – not because he doubted his abilities – but because his sport wasn’t even an Olympic event.

It pays to be focused and to persevere. Those qualities, which exemplify Wescott’s entire racing career, were never more evident than they were on Cypress Mountain outside of Vancouver this week where the 33-year-old Sugarloaf, Maine, rider came from behind – far behind – to win his second Olympic gold medal.

With his performance at the Vancouver Games, Wescott becomes the first back-to-back gold medalist in any snowboard discipline. Until the final moment in the final race, that scenario didn’t even seem possible.

Still nursing a leg and pelvis injury sustained in a race two months ago, Wescott arrived in Vancouver clearly not feeling, or racing, at his best. He scratched his way through the preliminaries, putting himself at a disadvantage by being relegated to poor starting positions along the way. Despite making errors on course, including a spin-out during the time trial, he somehow managed to make it to the medal round.

In a Tuesday morning NBC Olympics Facebook interview conducted by fans, Wescott explained how he persevered, despite being off his game.

“Part of getting to the level that I’ve gotten to as a snowboarder is to be able to put the last run behind you, stay focused, and move on,” he said.

“I really felt coming into (Vancouver) that I hadn’t been feeling the pressure, but I think today when I actually got on the world stage again, my time trials were evidence that I was feeling some pressure to defend the gold,” he said. “I had a lot of pressure going into Torino because I was World Champion at the time. I think it was a little heavier this time for sure, but it’s something that gave me motivation throughout the day. I had to fight a little harder.”

The pattern continued in the final race for the medals, where Wescott found himself slowed into third place after his American teammate, Nate Holland, spun out from the front. As the race banked its way toward the finish, it looked impossible that he could catch the frontrunner, Canadian Mike Robertson.

But he did, riding faster lines along the sweeping turns, step-downs and jumps of the Jeff Ihaksi-designed course, to claim the gold medal. Ihaksi, a former SBX racer, also designed the SBX course in Torino, site of Wescott’s first Olympic victory in 2006.

“You really had to match your takeoffs and landings properly to get the speed,” Wescott replied to a fan’s question about the course. “This (course) was challenging more so because of the conditions.”

Now that it’s over, Wescott plans to stick around for the rest of the Games to soak in everything he can about the experience, something he missed out on four years ago when he left Torino shortly after competing.

“This time I’m so stoked to go up and see all my friends on the ski team compete at Whistler, and to cheer my friends on at the halfpipe,” he said. “I’m taking in the whole experience this year and will be here for closing ceremonies.”

And when he returns home to Sugarloaf, he’s sure to receive a hero’s welcome … again.