Westport Snowboarder Wins Silver Medal At 2022 Beijing Olympics

WESTPORT, CT — Snowboarder Julia Marino made her mark at the 2022 Beijing Olympics this weekend when the 24-year-old Westport native earned a silver medal in the Women's Snowboard Slopestyle competition Sunday.

According to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team, Marino earned the first Olympic medal handed out to an American at the 2022 competition.

"I honestly have no words right now," Marino said in a video interview with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team following the competition. "It's going to sink in at one point, but right now it's just like this is on a cloud. This is crazy, the craziest feeling I've ever felt."

Marino finished second in the competition, earning a score of 87.68, just a little below Zoe Sadowski-Synnott, of New Zealand, who took gold with a score of 92.88. Tess Coady, of Australia, earned a bronze medal after scoring 84.15, according to the team.

"It's a run I've been wanting to put down for a long time," Marino said in an interview with NBC. "This season [I] didn't get to necessarily get to put that one down, and to do it here just means a whole lot different than anything else and I'm just so over the moon to have landed that top to bottom."

Marino was also connected to a group of friends and family in Westport following her run, offering her the opportunity to thank them for watching and supporting her.

In a Monday morning interview with TODAY's Craig Melvin, who referred to Marino as "the pride of Westport, Connecticut," Marino said the fact that she was a medal-winning Olympian had not fully settled in yet.

"There's so much going on here that keeps me on my toes," Marino said on TODAY, "it hasn't really allowed me to just kind of take a moment to sink in...I can't even explain how unreal this experience has all been."

Marino said looking at replay footage of her run brings her right back to the moment it all happened, which she described as "such a cool feeling." She also noted she made an effort not to put too much pressure on herself prior to the competition this weekend.

Marino will also compete in the women's Big Air competition, with qualifying competitions scheduled to air Feb. 14 and finals scheduled to take place the following day.

For Marino, this year's competition marks her second Olympic winter games appearance. She previously competed in PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, where she placed 10th in the big air competition and 11th in the slopestyle competition, according to her Team USA profile.

See also: Westport Native Competing In Beijing Winter Olympics

In remarks made during a recent opening press conference, provided by a U.S. Freeski & Snowboard Team press officer, Marino said she was coming into the 2022 games with a little more experience and knowledge than in 2018.

"I've learned a lot in the four years from the past one and I'm trying to take some of those lessons and apply them here," Marino said. "I'm coming in with a little bit less expectations and just trying to enjoy the experience."

Marino previously placed first in the slopestyle event at the 2017 X Games Aspen. She also placed third in the big air event at that same competition.

She also notably competed in the 2018 X Games Aspen, where she placed second in the slopestyle event, and the 2017 X Games Norway, where she placed second in the big air event and third in slopestyle.

In 2016, she became the first woman to land a double in the slopestyle competition at the Corona World Championships of Snowboarding.