Snowboard Cross is a relatively new sport. Snowboarding was a popular sport that grew into an Olympic-level competitive sport in the 1990s. But Snowboard Cross became an Olympic sport for the first time in the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy.
Unlike other snowboarding competitions, snowboard cross isn’t judged.
Competitors race down a course, trying to beat each other to the finish line. Unlike other skiing events, competitors race against each other at the same time. Some people say it’s a little like BMX bike racing, only on snow.
In the first rounds of the Olympics, snowboard cross racers make timed runs down the course. The racers with the fastest times make the final rounds, thirty-two racers in all.
The excitement grows in the final rounds, when riders race in groups of four. The top two racers in each heat make it to the next round, until only four riders remain. The final four ride in one last race, with the winner taking the gold medal.
Snowboard Cross was an instant hit in its first Olympics. Fans liked watching the riders compete on the course at the same time. The bumping and positioning during the head-to-head racing made it very exciting.
In the 2006 Olympics, American Seth Wescott won the gold medal for men. Radoslav Zidek of Slovakia won the silver medal, and Paul-Henri Delerue of France took bronze. In the women’s final, Tanja Frieden of Switzerland won the gold medal, Lindsey Jacobellis of the U.S. won the silver medal, and Dominique Maltais of Canada earned the bronze.