Winter Olympics 2018: Ohio Teen Wins First U.S. Gold Medal

ROCKY RIVER, OH – Red Gerard, an 18-year-old born in Cleveland's western suburbs, has won the United States' first gold medal of the Pyeongchang Olympics in men's slopestyle snowboarding. In the final round, he bounced from 11th place and into the lead with a dramatic run.

Canadians Max Parrot and Mark McMorris won silver and bronze medals, respectively. Gerard's score of 87.16 edged Parrot, who had a final score of 86.00. McMorris had a score of 85.20 in his second run.

Gerard's final run included a switch backside 1260 and a backside triple cork 1440. (Watch a video of his gold medal-winning run at NBC Sports.)

Gerard now lives in Breckenridge, Colorado, where he can shred on his snowboard with a little more consistency. Gerard began snowboarding at the amazing age of 2, according to his website. Living in Cleveland didn't offer him the regular opportunities to snowboard that he wanted. Luckily, his family decided on a trial move to Colorado when he was seven. The family of nine split their time between Breckenridge and Cleveland. Later the family tried out living in Frisco, Colorado.

In 2011, Gerard began competing in the amateur ranks. By 2015, he was notching top-three finishes in competitions. He also took fourth at the Junior World Championships that year and then graduated to the professional circuit.

Then, in mid-January 2018, Gerard won a U.S. Grand Prix slope style event and punched his ticket to South Korea for the Winter Olympics. He is one of two Americans competing in slope style at Pyeongchang.

The Winter Olympics started Friday and will run for 18 days. The event will conclude with closing ceremonies on Feb. 25.

Besides watching Red, here are five other American athletes to keep an eye on.

Skier Lindsey Vonn: The three-time Olympian from Vail, Colorado, won gold and bronze in the 2010 Winter Games, but missed the Sochi Olympics in 2014 because of injuries. Despite that, Vonn, 33, is still the sport’s most winning skier, and has earned world titles in all five alpine ski disciplines — something that doesn’t often happen.

Figure Skater Nathan Chen: Sports Illustrated picks 18-year-old Chen to win gold in his Olympics debut. In January, the Salt Lake, Utah, native became the first male figure skater to land five quadruple jumps in a single performance, an exceptional feat he repeated it a month later.

Skier Mikaela Shiffrin: The 22-year-old alpine racer who hails from Eagle-Vail, Colorado, is “the best slalom skier in the world,” The New Yorker said. It’s not hyperbole. Shiffrin has been the No. 1-ranked woman in the world for two years running and will defend her gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games.

Snowboarder Jamie Anderson: Anderson, 27, won a gold medal in the slopestyle snowboarding competition in her Olympic debut in Sochi, and is well positioned to repeat the the feat in Pyeongchang. This season, the South Lake Tahoe, California, athlete unveiled a new move, a cab double underflip, at the Winter Games in New Zealand.

Ice dancers Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani: The Ann Arbor, Michigan, brother-and-sister team known as the “Shib Sibs” have won gold medals at international competitions for three consecutive seasons, and also medaled in national championships in each of the past seven years, including gold medals in both 2016 and 2017. Maia is 23 and Alex is 26. They also competed in Sochi Olympics, where they placed ninth.

See Also: When, Where To Watch The Olympics On TV, Live Streams

Photo from Tom Pennington / Getty