Athletes train for years to hone their crafts, and in the the build-up to the Olympics they pay attention to every last detail.

Just ask Wayde van Niekerk, one of the hardest working athletes this country has ever seen.

I imagine that the night before one competes must be a nerve-wracking affair, but that was definitely not the case with Red Gerard. He’s everyone’s new favourite snowboarder, the 17-year-old grabbing gold in Sunday’s slopestyle snowboarding.

That made him the youngest American man in the past 90 years to win gold at a Winter Olympics, but it’s the build-up to his event that has everyone talking.

VICE reports:

He’d passed out during an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine on Saturday night and slept through his morning alarm. When a friend finally dragged him out of bed into the world of the living, Gerard realized [sic] his jacket was missing. Running late, he borrowed a coat and bolted out the door—and then promptly won a goddamn Olympic gold medal…

“I actually said going into all the contests that I’d love fourth place,” Gerard later said, after he’d exhausted himself of excited expletives. “But first place is better, I got to say.”

Gerard celebrated his win with members of his friends and family who were waiting for him at the bottom of the slope, who had been shotgunning beers since 8:30 in the morning in anticipation of his success.

What’s not to love. right?

Must have been hell giving up the zol for a few weeks before the Olympics, though.

He’s also managed to get a swear word on live TV, his reaction to winning gold including this zinger beamed around the world:

So, @NBCOlympics aired snowboarding on delay and still couldn’t delete the “holy f*ck” after Red Gerard won. #NBCdelayed #NBColympics #olympics pic.twitter.com/Z8sct2t8Qo

— bobby cherry ⛸ (@GoBobbo) February 11, 2018

Let’s get back to the friends and family shotgunning early morning beers ahead of his big day. They been having it:

Red Gerard said he got a Snapchat this morning around 8:30 a.m. from his group of 17 people that is in Pyeongchang, South Korea to support him for the Games: “They were all shotgunning beers on the way to the mountains.” pic.twitter.com/JORk5m3pH5

— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) February 11, 2018

The youth of today.

That would be his family and friends celebrating like mad at the end of his gold medal run:

Via Health, let’s learn a little more about America’s new favourite teenager:

• His real name is Redmond
• He started snowboarding when he was two
• He’s one of seven kids
• He has a snow park in his backyard

Here’s a video of that backyard, filmed last year when he was 16:

Nice, but where’s the ocean bruh?

Well played, Red, and here’s hoping you shotgunned many beers with friends and family after securing that gold.

[sources:vice&health]