Remember when theh internet was just a ton of listicles? We were obsessed with ranking everything. Well, that is back, and snowboarding had a solid showing in the latest viral list going around the web. It has been a slow summer, so this is where we are in the news. Shaun White takes the number seven spot on the ESPN list while Chloe Kim is voted 12th overall and Lindsey Jacobellis claims #20 in the top 25 Olympians of the 21st Century! It probably isn’t much of a shock claiming six golds between the three in pretty dominant fashion. Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, Usain Bolt, and Katie Ledecky are some of the notable names that are higher up on the list. Shockingly, Mikaela Shiffrin is in the number five spot ahead of Shaun, and although she has had plenty more world titles and records, in the Olympic arena Shaun actually holds more golds and is tied in the overall medal count.
The snowboarders have made the sport a household name across the U.S. with their success on the world stage. We can’t even count the magazine covers and cereal box fronts they have had since White’s first Olympics in 2006. Jacobellis was a true comeback story after losing an almost guaranteed gold in 2006 but finding the top of the podium sixteen years later at Beijing 2022. Shaun has recently released a documentary about his career that you can watch on HBO and we would guess Chloe probably isn’t too far behind, although she still has more medals to win. If she chooses, she will look to add another gold in 2026 when the Winter Games are held in Italy. White and Kim have been reinvesting recently in snowboarding with Shaun White starting his own contest league and Chloe teaming up with X Games and investing in the upcoming X Games League according to initial reports. Lindsay has a book out now about her journey in snowboard cross.
Say what you want about the Olympics not being the best representation of snowboarding, but these three have definitely done a lot for the expansion of the pastime in the mainstream and deserve the recognition!
