Michigan snowboarder Nick Baumgartner sees his age as an advantage heading into his fifth Olympic appearance.
At 44 years old, Baumgartner is the oldest competing member of Team USA so far these Games and the oldest snowboarder on the team by 14 years.
“I’m in a sport against children,” Baumgartner told NBC News. “Snowboarding is dominated by youth, and to have a guy like me, the elder statesman, I love it, man. It makes me proud.”
Baumgartner made his 2026 Olympic debut in snowboard cross Thursday. He sits at 22nd after seeding for the event, which will kickoff officially at 6:45 a.m. CT.
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var pymParent=new pym.Parent('olyLink5187', ' visuals.otsops.com/projects/milan-links-generator/visual-link.html?link=stream.nbcolympics.com/snowboarding-mens-snowboard-cross-finals&title=WATCH%20LIVE:%20Snowboard%20Cross%20finals&rand=5187&image=media.nbcchicago.com/2026/02/USATSI_28216607.jpg?impolicy=rect_medium_1024_576&quality=85&strip=all', {title: '', parenturlparam: '', parenturlvalue: ''});Baumgartner has already proven himself against younger competitors.
At the 2026 Winter Olympics, Baumgartner is going for his second gold medal, having won his first at 40 years old during the 2022 Beijing Games.
“When I show up and I beat these kids and they have to go home and tell their parents they lost to someone their age, that’s inspirational,” he told NBC Olympics. “They’re going to put in the work so that they come back and they’re going to be better.”
Baumgartner entered the 2026 Games as one of at least five athletes over the age of 40 competing for Team USA.
The only U.S. teammate older than him is 54-year-old Minnesota curler, Rich Ruohonen. Ruohonen is an alternate on the team, however, and it remains unclear if he will compete at the Games. If he does, he will become the oldest American to ever compete in the Winter Olympics.
Baumgartner, who prior to his gold medal poured concrete to fund his snowboarding journey, knows he’s testing the limits of his body.
“Trying to stay young and pouring concrete do not go together,” he told NBC Olympics. “It would have been very tough had I not won that gold medal to fund this and to keep doing this.”
But he credits, in part, his upbringing in the Upper Peninsula with his resilience.
“I get asked all the time how I made it to this level from where I came from,” Baumgartner said. “People think it’s a disadvantage. I think it’s our strength. We have to work harder for everything we get.”
And his incredible work ethic speaks for itself.
“I’ve learned to outwork everyone, if I worked out as hard as I do now when I was in my prime, heck, I could have been unstoppable,” he said.
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