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Livigno: Four seconds doesn’t seem like a long time, but it feels like an eternity when you’re standing at the start gate serving a four-second penalty as your competitors race down the course.
That was the situation Olympic gold medallist Josie Baff found herself in for the mixed team snowboard cross final in Livigno on Sunday after her race start was delayed by 4.16 seconds due to a time penalty picked up by teammate Adam Lambert.
Men race first in snowboard cross, and their female teammates have a staggered start based on the finishing margins in the men’s race. When Lambert clipped the back of his Italian competitors board and spun out of the course, it all but guaranteed they’d miss the podium.
“I was thinking, wow, four seconds is a really long time,” Baff said of the frustration of watching her competitors start four seconds before her.
“But then as I dropped out of the gate, I knew that I was strong, and my starts were way better today. I think I was less nervous, and I was kind of going back to my normal starts, which was great.”
Josie Baff crosses the line last in the mixed snowboard cross final.Credit: Getty Images
A medal of any colour for Baff would have made her the first Australian to win two medals at a single Winter Olympic Games.
The 23-year-old is no stranger to starting on the back foot. She had to make up a 1.46 second deficit in their quarter-final, and a 0.42 second one again in their semi-final.
She had also come from behind to win Olympic gold two days earlier after being slow out of the gate.
“It worked really well in the semis. I was able to reel back that half a second very quickly,” she said.
“So I was like, you know what? Anything’s possible, and I’m going to trust that these three [other competitors] might have some contact lower down, and I want to be in that race if anything does happen… I could see, I was like, wow, I’m getting closer. I actually am getting closer.
“I could see them exiting the turn as I was entering the turn. I thought, this could still work, and I knew if I closed that gap a little bit more, I could get slingshots. So yeah, I was hoping for that. But unfortunately, four seconds is a long time.”
Adam Lambert heads towards the finish line after his crash in the men’s section of the final.Credit: Getty Images
The hardest part about it? They could have won gold.
“I think we could have won. I really, truly believe that we could have had that medal,” Baff said.
“And I guess that stings a little bit, but at the same time, it’s snowboard cross, and it shows the unpredictability of the sport. And that’s just racing.”
Lambert said the contact with Italy’s Lorenzo Sommariva was obviously disappointing.
As he went over the jump and headed towards turn six near the end of the course, Lambert landed on the inside of Sommariva – and the front of the Australian’s snowboard clipped him and sent him spinning out.
“Part of my strategy was to make it down the course, obviously, and not crash,” Lambert said.
“I would have been content with fourth there, but like I said, unfortunately, as I came over that camel [jump], I didn’t have space to move left.
“I had to take what I was given, and I know Josie could have pulled back half a second. She probably could have pulled back a second and a half, she’s been riding so well, but four seconds is just slightly too much.”
Mia Clift in the mixed team snowboard cross small final.Credit: Getty Images
It was a similar situation for Australia’s No.2 team of Mia Clift and Jarryd Hughes, with Clift having a 1.27 second delay in her semi-final, followed by a 3.08 delay in the small final (determined 5th-8th places).
“She rode incredibly, and unfortunately, I couldn’t match her level of riding today and how well she was doing,” Hughes said.
“She deserved much better today, and I’m just sorry I couldn’t get it done.”
The Winter Olympic Games is broadcast on the 9Network, 9Now and Stan Sport.
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