IRON RIVER, MI — We are less than 100 days from the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.
In 2022, at 40 years old, Iron River, Michigan native Nick Baumgartner won his first gold medal in mixed snowboard cross with Lindsey Jacobellis in Beijing.
Now, almost 44, Baumgartner still wants his first individual gold, but it's not necessary, as his career has given him experiences that a 15-year-old Nick would have never believed.
“How many people you think doubt that I can make it to the Olympics at 44, and I love that. Tell me I can't. I'm going to go and I'm going to try to prove you wrong," he said.
Baumgartner discusses his ultimate goal of winning gold!
As for whether this is Baumgartner's last run, it sure doesn't sound like it.
“I've always said as long as I'm competitive and having fun, which go hand in hand, I'm going to continue to do this as long as my body will let me,” he said. “So who knows what that is. I would love to be able to stick around long enough to do an Olympics in the United States, which is 2034. I'll be 52—that might be out of reach, but we're going to find out.”
You could say Baumgartner is the Tom Brady of snowboarding. His secret is that he's learned from his mistakes.
“I've learned to outwork everyone,” Baumgartner said. “If I worked out as hard as I do now when I was in my prime, heck, I could have been unstoppable. But I've had the longevity in my career to learn from those mistakes and apply them. And now you add that hard work with the knowledge that I've gained over all these years—that makes me dangerous.”
Hear the full interview with Baumgartner as he sat down with NBC 26 sports reporter John Miller!
He's still chasing that first individual gold, but it's not everything to him anymore.
"Is it needed? No. Is it wanted? Absolutely. That's why I'm putting in the work. That's why I make the sacrifices I do,” said the gold medalist. “That's why I drive an hour and a half every Monday and Thursday to work out, stay the night in my van, and drive home. If I put in all the work and take no shortcuts, skip no training, and do all that and fall short, I can live with that.”
And no matter if this is the last run or not, Baumgartner is thankful for what the sport has done for him.
“This journey's been incredible, man,” he said. “To be able to carve out a life like I have—unbelievable. If you had told 15-year-old me that that's what we were going to do, I would have been thrilled. Because it just seemed so far away from me, and then as it slowly started happening, and just the things I've gotten to do, the people I've gotten to meet, and the places I've gotten to go.”
Baumgartner will have several opportunities to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics over the next few months.
