Making America proud! Red Gerard has nabbed the first gold medal for Team USA in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
The 17-year-old snowboarder, who was initially in last place before going into his final run, annihilated his competition on Saturday, February 10, by pulling out some unique moves that resulted in a score of 87.16 from the judges. He’s the youngest American to ever win a medal in snowboarding.
Fans quickly took to Twitter to praise Gerard, whose real name is Redmond Gerard, for his amazing feat. One viewer wrote, “Wow watching Red Gerard go from 11th place to winning the gold gave me chills!” Another tweeted,”HUGE CONGRATS DUDE. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer snowboarder. :)”
The athlete, who has been snowboarding since the age of 2, spoke with Us Weekly ahead of the Olympics about his plans with his parents and six siblings should he medal: “I can just maybe go out with them and have a nice dinner — nice and easy.”
But according to the Olympian, his family was celebrating in a different way. “I’m pretty sure I saw a video of them shotgunning beers at 8:30 a.m.,” he revealed during a press conference after his win. “So I’m pretty sure they are doing just fine.”
To learn more about Gerard, visit teamusa.org. The Olympics are airing on NBC.
