U.S. snowboarder Ashley Caldwell had a selfless reaction to placing fourth in the women’s aerials event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on Monday.
Caldwell didn’t wallow after missing out on a medal. Instead, she ran to congratulate American teammate Megan Nick for winning bronze and embraced Chinese rival Mengtao Xu for taking gold.
“Olympic champion! I’m so proud of you … you did it,” Caldwell told Xu.
“Tao Tao has been pushing triples for longer than I have. And I respect her wholeheartedly. For her to win a gold medal in her own country is an incredible accomplishment,” Caldwell told reporters. “I respect what everyone does out here. I know how hard this is.”
Caldwell, competing in her fourth Olympics, took home her own gold in the mixed aerials team event on Thursday.
