This Cleveland Olympian is riding a snowboard covered in hometown pride and 45 family members are in Milan to
MILAN – If Rocky River’s Red Gerard finds his way back onto an Olympic podium in the coming days, Clevelanders can take pride that they had a little something to do with it.
The 25-year-old snowboarder won gold at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang in slopestyle but finished fourth four years later in Beijing, while finishing fifth in big air in both 2018 and 2022. He will begin qualifying Thursday in big air, with the final set for Saturday. The competition in slopestyle – his stronger event – starts on Feb. 16.
Unlike his previous two Olympic appearances, the sport’s now-established superstar has arrived at the venue in Livigno with his own unique new “pro” model snowboard. It pays tribute to his Cleveland roots, complete with a map of the city and an image of one of the Guardians of Traffic on Hope Memorial Bridge. It’s helping to give him plenty of inspiration in what could be his final Olympic Games.
“I was really honored when I got my first pro model,” explained the two-time Winter X Games champion at a pre-competition press conference on Tuesday. “As a snowboarder, it’s what I dreamed about, and looked up to so many snowboarders who have had pro models. I wanted this to happen so bad, and then when it happened, and I was like: ‘Oh no, what do I actually do for a pro model?’ So, when it came down to the deadline, it was like: ‘Let’s just go back to where I’m from.’ I’m from Cleveland. They’re such a great fan base there and I’m so thankful for the people there, and my whole family still lives there, so just bringing it all back to there was the whole idea.”
He’ll also have plenty of Northeast Ohio support on hand in northern Italy to cheer him on, which is a welcome change from 2022 when no one could attend because of COVID. Gerard, who is the sixth of seven children, said that about 20 family members and friends saw him compete in Korea. This time, he figures about 45 will be showing up.
“They were bummed to miss on Beijing, I’ll tell you that,” he said. “It’s like a crazy group, man. It’s actually really sick. Brothers are having kids now, so maybe it’ll be a mellower crew, but you kind of never know what you’re getting with them.”
When Gerard had his Olympic debut in Korea, he was a naïve 17-year-old who admittedly did not understand how big the Olympic Games are, so he was able to perform freely and without expectations. It took him to a gold medal and sudden fame. Four years later, he felt the burden of expectation as he fully understood that this is a rare, special event on the winter sports calendar that is far bigger than any other. The mental burden led to results that disappointed him.
This time, he said, he has a very different mindset.
“I’m just trying to get back to that 17-year-old self. I know what it takes. I feel like I’m riding the best I ever have in a lot of ways,” said Gerard, who now calls Colorado home. “The Olympics is a different contest than the other World Cups. Look, we don’t do this (press conferences) at other World Cups. The third time around, I’m just kind of taking it all in, and while I say it’s a different contest, just treating it like it is the same contest, because realistically it’s the same format that we run. I’m just kind of going back to doing the kind of tricks that I know how to do and not worrying about the judges and literally just try to land runs and go from there.”
One difference at these Games compared to past editions and most other major snowboard competitions is the order has been flipped. Instead of slopestyle followed a week later by big air, it’s the other way around, and most of the competitors – including Gerard – say they would have preferred it to be the usual way. Now they’ll have to adjust.
“In the positive outlook, I think it’ll be nice to kind of like hit big air, get your reps on getting your bigger tricks, and hopefully not be as scared to put them into a slopestyle,” said Gerard, who was the first of the four-member U.S. team to clinch his spot on the squad late last year based on his results over the 2024-2025 season. The others had to battle it out this year for the remaining spots.
It’s also a little bit different for an Olympic big air jump to be based on constructed scaffolding, rather than a natural, mountainous slope, which does not thrill him either. But one other change – that the competition is at night – has him stoked.
“For me, I grew up watching X Games (at night). So, I kind of feel like a big dog right now, it’s pretty fun.”
