Red Gerard‘s gold medal is damaged. His desire to compete remains in tact.
“The gold medal is, honestly, not doing too good,” Gerard said in a recent interview in New York City.
The 18-year-old snowboarder then unfurled the medal from his pocket and pointed to an adorning clip.
“It took a little beating,” he said. “It broke. We’re going to get it fixed.”
Like many Rio Olympic medalists, Gerard said he planned to send his medal off for repairs. It is a historic one.
Nine months ago, the sixth of seven kids from a Colorado snowboarding family became the first American to take gold in PyeongChang.