Veteran US snowboarder Nick Baumgartner was denied a shot at an Olympic medal in agonizing fashion on Thursday.
Baumgartner, 44, failed to advance to the snowboard cross final in Livigno after getting over the line just 0.08 seconds behind Austria’s Alessandro Haemmerle in a dramatic semifinal.
The final is determined by holding two four-rider semifinals, with the top two finishers in each progressing to the all-important decider.
Haemmerle pipped Baumgartner to second place in their semifinal, with Eliot Grondin of Canada coming first.
It meant the American snowboarder , who won a mixed team gold at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, was forced to watch on a spectator when the final took place shortly after.
And to rub salt in the wounds, it was Haemmerle who went on to claim the gold after their photo finish in the semifinal.
US snowboarder Nick Baumgartner was denied a shot at an Olympic medal in brutal fashion
Baumgartner, 44, got over the line just 0.08 seconds after the last qualifier in the semifinal
Baumgartner, who is from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, entered his fifth Olympics as the oldest snowboarder in the field after turning 44 in December.
He led the US to finish 7th after impressive runs in the quarterfinal and semifinal, before advancing to the small final after being eliminated by Haemmerle.
In the small final, which is held in case of disqualifications in the main final, he went head-to-head with 17-year-old Jonas Chollet, who is four years younger than his son, Landon.
His countryman Jakob Dusek followed the pair to win bronze, while France’s Aidan Chollet came fourth.
After defying the odds as the oldest snowboarder in Milan-Cortina, Baumgartner has even talked up the unthinkable: a place at the 2034 Games in Salt Lake City.
‘The longer I do this, the more people that I can inspire,’ he said. ‘If I’m 52 years old in 2034 and I’m still doing this, you have no excuse to go chase your dreams.’