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Americans Dierdorff, Jacobellis snag gold in inaugural team snowboardcross world championship event

Team USA’s world championship medal count is up to three after Sunday

Mick Dierdorff clears a jump in the men's snowboard cross final at the Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships, Friday, Feb. 1, 2019, in Solitude, Utah. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)

  | Feb. 3, 2019, 11:33 p.m.

Solitude • Team USA’s momentum at these 2019 FIS World Championships continued into Super Bowl Sunday.

Americans Lindsey Jacobellis and Mick Dierdorff won the inaugural mixed snowboardcross world championship at Solitude on Sunday afternoon. The U.S. tandem won every heat en route to the first-ever world title. Dierdorff’s magical world championships end with two gold medals in tow. The 27-year-old from Steamboat Springs, Colo., won the men’s snowboardcross title Friday at Solitude. Jacobellis won her sixth world title Sunday. The four-time Olympian finished fifth overall in Friday’s women’s final.

“My goal in this event, of course, was to try to be first to give Lindsey as big of a gap as possible,” Dierdorff said. “That worked out for the first two runs, but then in the big final, it just didn’t go my way. At first I had this gut-wrenching feeling. But then I was like, wait, I have the greatest snowboarder of all time, Lindsey Jacobellis, there on my team. I think that almost made it more exciting, to have the task ahead of her of going from fourth to first in the final run. It shows what a badass rider she is."

Jacobellis, the sport’s most-decorated female snowboardcross rider, will leave these world championships with another gold medal. A gate malfunction in Jacobellis’ area at the top of the snowboardcross course during the semifinal round Sunday forced a re-run after the gate didn’t swing open once Dierdroff finished at the bottom of the hill. She later won the semifinal race easily.

“I’m used to being first in team events so it was a little nerve-wracking waiting for the gate to drop,” Jacobellis said. “And then [after the malfunction] I definitely over-gripped a little and had some trouble getting out of the start on the rerun. I was really happy to turn that around and execute.”

And did so again in the final, despite starting out the championship run in fourth place. The mixed-team snowboardcross event will make its Olympic debut at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, China.

The gold won Sunday brings Team USA’s medal count to three. Dierdroff won gold Friday and Saturday night at Canyons Village in Park City; slopestyle skier Julia Krass won a silver medal in the first-ever ski big air final. The world championships continue Monday with the parallel giant slalom snowboarding event at Park City Mountain.