Jamie Anderson: A woman who knows no bounds
Jamie Anderson is one of to the most renowned and respected name in the sport of snowboarding. There are very few women who can boast her accomplishments as much as this female rider has credited at such a young age.
X Games medals, Swatch Ticket to Ride (TTR) World Snowboarding Tour titles, Dew Tour title – they are all there on this female’s mantelpiece. She has barely stepped out of teens and is already reputed as the most intimidating rider in snowboarding.
There is hardly any female who can claim her skills to come close to those of Anderson in the slopestyle discipline. The woman is widely regarded as the queen of the particular discipline.
Born and raised in South Lake Tahoe, America, Anderson has been riding a snowboard since she was nine-years-old. By the time she turned 10, she had gained enough recognition to attract sponsorship offers from various companies. She was not the first one
to get into the sport of snowboarding in her family. Her two elder sisters were also into the sport. Following them into the winter sport, Anderson proved herself to be a fierce competitor in almost all the disciplines of snowboarding, especially slopestyle.
By the time the American snowboarder turned thirteen, she made her way to her first ever Winter X Games in 2004. In her debut appearance, she ended up in ninth place. The next year did not turn out to be a real improvement, as she managed to finish in eighth.
However, her third Winter X turned out to be the defining one in her life. She made her first appearance as a competitor in the Winter X Women’s Slopestyle event and took everyone by surprise. Just 15 years of age, Anderson clinched the bronze medal, becoming
the youngest athlete to get her hands on an X Games medal. Previously, the honour of being the youngest X Game medallist was with Shaun White.
Anderson returned to the 11th edition of the X Games in 2007 and this time, she went all the way in slopestyle to take home her first gold medal, becoming the youngest gold medallist in Winter X history. She was 16 years old at that time. Her
sister, Joanie Anderson, also won a gold medal in the same year, in Snowboarder X. Anderson repeated the feat in 2008 as well and walked away with yet another Winter X gold in slopestyle. With one year hiatus, she secured the silver and bronze medal in 2010
and 2011 respectively.
However, Anderson’s climb to glory was not just limited to Winter X. She has left her mark in the Swatch TTR World Snowboarding Tour over the years. Her ability to overcome the best of competition through consistency and above-average skills has earned her
the crown twice. The first one came in the 2007-08 season. She earned her second crown in 2011 to become the first women to clinch the title twice. The woman has managed to consistently prove her superior skills and abilities in the field.
The 20-year-old stands out because of her aggressive style and consistent strong runs. She started showing signs of excellence in her very first professional years. She has climbed all the way to the legendary status. She enters almost every slopestyle contest
as a favourite and manages to live up to the expectations.
Saying that Anderson is to snowboarding what Michael Jordan was to Basketball will not be an understatement. Still at the top of her game, she is still going strong and is not done amassing medals and titles. Indeed Anderson is the one of the most exciting
action sports athlete in the world.
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