Nate Holland, an American snowboarder, has won 7 gold medals in the X Games, with a world record for most medals won in a row in Boardercross, referred to as “Snowboard Cross” by FIS. He’s also competed in the Winter Olympics three times, including a near medal miss at fourth place in 2010.
Boardercross is a downhill snowboard competition where 4-6 snowboarders race through a narrow course with cambered turns, jumps, drops, rollers, and both steep and flat sections taken at maximum speed. The event has been compared to motocross in that both events challenge the athletes’ ability to maintain control while handling both onrushing obstacles and predicting fellow competitors’ movements.
Considered a trailblazer in the sport, Nate got his start in Sandpoint, Idaho where he was born in 1978. He began snowboarding at Schweitzer Mountain Resort. As a boy, Nate developed a love of speed on a Burton Performer Elite board and continues to feed that fast-paced exhilaration as an adult by going full tilt, making him a fan favorite at every event he enters. He says he was inspired to go pro after watching the classic snowboarding movie “Critical Condition” with riders like Roach, Sanders, and the Hacketts, filmed partly in our own Squaw Valley.
Holland, his wife, and young daughter now make their home right here in Truckee.
Photo Courtesy of Nate Holland’s Facebook Page
Leave a Reply