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Steamboat Magazine

Arielle Gold

10/27/2013 10:43AM ● By Grant Johnson

Photo courtesy NBC Olympics/USOC

Steamboat Springs, CO - Arielle, 17, is ranked second in the world in women’s half pipe by the World Snowboard Tour and finished fourth in the 2013 Winter X Games in Aspen.

Q. Who is your biggest role model?
A.
While my parents have definitely taught me to do what I love, there are countless athletes who inspire me on a daily basis. I guess I just try to learn a little bit from everyone.

Q. What is the worst boarding accident you’ve ever been in?
A. Early this season I was working on one of my harder tricks, a Frontside 900, and I took off of the half pipe wall too early, which made me fly out over the deck of the half pipe and hit it, bouncing into the flat bottom head first. I ended up landing on the front of my head and my shoulder. Luckily, I only had a minor concussion and a sprained AC joint, so after about a week or so I was able to get back on snow.

Q. Do you have a signature article of clothing you wear when competing?
A. Not exactly. Sometimes I'll wear two different colored bindings or a crazy jacket, but there's nothing that I specifically do for every contest. I like to keep it interesting and just wear what I'm feeling.
 

Q. You’re a Steamboat native, but is there anywhere you consider to be your second home?
A. New Zealand. Although I only spend about one month out of the entire year in New Zealand, it's just a place where I have felt at home ever since the first time that I went there. It's hard to explain, but I just feel comfortable there, like I could live there in the future.

Q. What goes through your mind when you’re flying through the air?
A. I wouldn't say a whole lot…. I'm mainly just trying to think about staying tucked up in the air, and hopefully bringing the trick around to my feet.
 

Q. What trick are you looking to conquer next?
A. I'm hoping to learn a 1080 at some point in the near future. I'd also like to improve my amplitude, and make it more consistent throughout my entire run.

Q. What does a typical day of training look like for you?
A. I get up and have breakfast around 7:30 a.m. After I eat, I'll get dressed and ready, then head up to the hill. Usually I'll stretch for about 10 minutes before getting on snow. Once I'm on snow, I'll do some warm-up tricks, and then get right into working on some of my more difficult tricks. I'll ride until about 2 p.m., then head down and eat some lunch, go to the gym, and do something fun for the rest of the day. After dinner, I'll stretch for a half hour, then rinse, sleep and repeat.

Q. What’s it like to compete alongside your brother?
A. I love having my brother to compete with. It's always nice having someone to travel with, and having a family member on the road always helps. If I ever get a bit homesick, I can spend some time with him and it definitely helps.

Q. What’s the best concert you went to this summer?
A. Well, I've only been to one concert in my life. It was a Rascal Flatts concert with one of my best friends, and it was awesome!
 

Q. What was your favorite Steamboat activity as a kid?
A. Snowboarding at Howelson Hill. It was always so much fun to get out of school and be able to go snowboard with some of my closest friends.

Q. What’s your favorite fashion trend?
A. I'm not exactly a fashion kind of person. If there was any type of fashion that I would say is "me," it would definitely be jeans and a shirt. I like to ride my horses in the summer, and you can't comfortably ride horses in shorts, so I'm almost always wearing jeans.

Q. Which three words describe you best?
A. Stubborn, outdoorsy, driven.

Q. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
A. I hope to be continuing to push the sport of women's snowboarding, and enjoying it more and more every day. I'd also like to still be riding horses when I'm not snowboarding.
 

Q. If you couldn’t ski or board, what other sport would you like to play professionally?
A. Equestrian. I've loved horses my entire life, so I could easily see myself riding horses for a living.