American Jake Vedder has taken the spot of injured Alex Deibold in snowboard cross at the 2022 Winter Olympics, U.S. Ski & Snowboard said Tuesday.
Deibold sustained a head injury during a qualifying race at last weekend's Cortina d'Ampezzo World Cup in Italy. The 35-year-old said in a statement he was "heartbroken" to miss the Games.
Vedder, 23, will make his Games debut. The Pinckney, Michigan, native is a five-year member of the U.S. snowboard team, the 2016 Youth Olympic gold medalist and the 2018 world junior champion.
Last January, he just missed earning his second career podium in fourth place at a Chiesa in Valmalenco World Cup in Italy. He was runner-up in 2018 at a World Cup about 100 miles west in Cervinia.
Vedder posted a photo of himself standing near the Olympic rings with the caption, "Dreams do come true." In a since-expired post to his stories, he wished Deibold a speedy recovery and pledged to represent him and his family well at the Games.
View social media post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CZeOvF2rJ4K/
Vedder joins Nick Baumgartner, Hagen Kearney and Mick Dierdorff as the four U.S. men's SBX riders competing at the 2022 Games.
Men's snowboard cross qualifying and finals take place next Thursday, Feb. 10 — that's Wednesday night into Thursday morning stateside.
SEE MORE: How to watch Snowboarding at the 2022 Winter Olympics on NBC and Peacock
