TRUE BLUE MEMORIES: Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Jamie Anderson made a drive-by at one of Times Square’s lesser-known destinations Thursday morning — WE TV’s pop-up “Bridezillas” Museum of Natural Hysteria.
As the first American woman to win two gold medals in snowboarding — first in Sochi and last month in Pyeongchang, Anderson has reason to hit the “Scream Booth,” but her placidness didn’t really translate. “I went in there but I had no energy to scream. I don’t like screaming. I did a little silent one. I was only an ‘Agitated Angel’ but I tried my hardest.”
Still running after appearances on “Ellen,” “Conan,” “The Chew” and a Wednesday night red-eye flight, Anderson will be checking in with The Players’ Tribune before hitting the Ralph Lauren store in SoHo tonight with a few of her fellow Team USA athletes. Wearing a Ralph Lauren white button down shirt, distressed black jeans and no-brand scubalike sneakers she bought in a thrift store in South Korea, Anderson started a conversation about her Olympic experience with “I am so grateful,”dragging out the adjective for effect. “Look” she said pulling her 2018 gold medal from a back pocket and handing it over. In addition to locking up the Slopestyle event, the California-born athlete won a silver medal for Big Air.
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Slouched in one of the white leather chairs used for the museum’s “Cray-Cray Cranial Head Massagers,” she said, “I haven’t really been home yet. I’m still kind of in ‘go’ mode. My suitcases are overloaded with Team USA gear. I only have another week or two on the road and then I’ll be home to reset.” Raving about wearing Ralph Lauren, she mentioned wearing her jeans all month. “They’re a little worn out. I’ve just been trying to do a lot of laundry — thankfully, staying fresh and clean.” she said. “I’ve got my Downy fabric softener because I don’t always get to do laundry on-the-go. I’m such a clean freak I don’t like to pack dirty clothes.”
While “competing of course is a privilege,” some of her standout moments were cheering for the American women’s sprint freestyle cross-country team in the Olympic cafeteria, meeting all the other athletes from around the world, sneaking down to the ocean for a few days with her Canadian snowboarder boyfriend Tyler Nicholson, having 17 of her family members in Pyeongchang and then flying back together first class with a Champagne toast thanks to United. “One of my favorite photos is of my Dad at the bottom [of the course] with a look of pure joy and enthusiasm with his arms up. Oh my gosh, it made me feel so grateful to have so much love and support.” she said.
In South Korea, she caught up with riders from Canada, Norway, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand. The snowboard community is pretty global. “In the cafeteria, all the snowboarders are all staggered together because we hang out all year round. That was pretty fun to see how we are one of the only sports that hang out together and there is no weirdness.” she said. “A lot of the other teams and sports are pretty strict, always staying with their nation and wearing matching outfits. The snowboarders are pretty low-key.”
After the Burton U.S. Open, which starts March 5 in Vail, she plans to go home to hang out with friends and family, and “hopefully ride some powder.” An international competition will be held in Norway next month. “Thankfully, I’m still really motivated to snowboard right now. I kind of just want to kick a– the rest of the season and then in the spring take a break and get down to the ocean.” she said.
“The podium was really surreal. When you’re standing there, I saw all my family. When they rose the flag and were playing the National Anthem, it’s really an emotional feeling and it comes full circle at that moment. It was like, ‘Wow! I just won the frickin’ Olympics.’ I could have cried.”