Olympic snowboard champion Lindsey Jacobellis will enjoy her sixth Winter Games from the TV booth.
Jacobellis, who recently had a daughter, Ayla, has decided to skip a run for yet another Olympics and instead serve as an analyst for snowboardcross on NBC's announcing team in Italy.
The 40-year-old, whose 31 World Cup titles, six world championships and two Olympic gold medals make her the best ever in her discipline, said the decision to take a year off was difficult.
“I sat down with my agent, my husband, we weighted the pros and cons,” Jacobellis said. “I am a competitor and I do like to compete but competition could potentially always be there. And these early years with my daughter, those are limited. I had to make a decision. Those decisions are hard. Being an adult is hard.”
Also announced Wednesday as part of NBC's action-sports coverage were Todd Harris (play-by-play), Todd Richards (snowboard), Tom Wallisch (freeskiing) and Tina Dixon (reporting, interviews).
Jacobellis, who has done some TV work for both surfing and snowboarding, will be providing analysis for a sport that she has dominated for the better part of two decades.
Her Olympic debut came in Italy in 2006 — the infamous “Lindsey Leap,” when she celebrated with a flashy jump and grab of her snowboard as she coasted down the homestretch with a big lead, but fell and finished second.
At the last Olympics, she finally got her gold medal, then earned another win, pairing with Nick Baumgartner in the mixed-team event.
“Don't count the old girl out,” Jacobellis said after that victory, when asked for the moral of the story.
She said she is not calling her move to the booth a retirement and doesn't buy into the idea that an athlete's career arc is defined by four-year periods marked by the Olympics.
“Life doesn't work that way,” she said. “You adapt and bend to life. It's calling an audible every day. I'm enjoying learning this new time in my life. I want to enjoy that time. I've given over 20 years to this sport, solely focusing on my career and racing. I want to give at least this first six months to a year to, totally, Ayla.”
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