GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Gold medal-winning snowboarder Nick Baumgartner keeps up with the young bucks.
Baumgartner, 44, will hit the slopes in Cortina Thursday morning, still searching for his first individual gold.
But at his age, the Upper Michigan native says he hopes he’s showing people that it’s never too late to chase your dreams.
"I'm 44 years old and I'm going to the Olympics to compete against the best," Baumgartner said. "What are you waiting for? Don't believe the excuses. Go get what you want."
The five-time Olympian told NBC 26 he spent countless hours building a track at his house to train for his goals.
"If I do everything in my power to set myself up to be successful and then I go there and it doesn't work out in my favor, I can live with that. But if I don't do those things and then I fall short, I'll regret that the rest of my life," he said.
While gold is the goal, Baumgartner says that doesn’t mean everything anymore. He won his only gold medal in 2022 with Lindsey Jacobellis in the mixed snowboard cross event. He just wants to have fun and take it all in – and he believes that will help him succeed.
"I think that'll put me in a really good spot to go out there and just whoop some butt," Baumgartner said.
Unlike the last Olympics, when COVID-19 still played a role, Baumgartner has about 20 family members coming to watch him. That includes his son, Landon, who famously met Baumgartner at the airport when he returned from Beijing four years ago.
"Any time my family's there, especially my son at the bottom, you see a different guy," Baumgartner said. "I rise to another level, and it's because I know that I'm leading by example and showing my son what's possible in his life."
While his son may drive him to compete even harder, Baumgartner usually gets a chance to test out the event a year before the games – but this time, that didn’t happen.
"The Italians are a little behind schedule, and the only people who have run the track are the Italians. They're trying to sneak some benefits and a little advantage on us," Baumgartner said.
But he doesn’t believe that gives the home country the upper hand.
"They're going to think it does, but give me the disadvantage, and then you're just going to tick me off a little bit and make me mad," said the Iron River native. "Which I don't think is going to work out real well for you."
Now it’s his time to shine – maybe, for the last time.
"Everything that I've done, all the sacrifices that I've made have paid off, and we're going to get another chance to go chase glory."
Baumgartner says nothing would mean more to him than bringing back any medal to the U.P. and celebrating with a community that has always had his back.
