ABOUT LINDSAY JACOBELLIS AND HER MEMOIR UNFORGIVING: LESSONS FROM THE FALL
With two Olympic gold medals, one silver medal, six World Championships victories, 31 World Cup victories and a staggering 59 career World Cup podiums, five-time Olympian Lindsey Jacobellis, is the most decorated snowboard cross athlete of all time. But, for the better part of her career, she was known for one of the most epic unforced errors in Olympic history, which not only cost her a gold medal but cast her into a storm of media ridicule and stifling self-doubt. In her deeply personal memoir, UNFORGIVING (Harper; Publication Date: October 17, 2023), Jacobellis chronicles her career from crushing early failure, to self-growth and love, to finally conquering her goal almost two decades later. Honest, intimate, and inspiring, UNFORGIVING is both an unprecedented look at what it's like to be a young female athlete under the spotlight and a manifesto for triumphing over failure, believing in yourself, and achieving at the highest level.
On February 16th, 2006, twenty-year old American snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis was poised to win the first gold medal in women's snowboard cross. Jacobellis, the top snowboard cross racer in the world and one of the most celebrated and decorated winter sports champions of all time, had a seemingly insurmountable lead in her race until she decided, in the home stretch, to celebrate midair and it all came crashing down. She lost her balance and fell. It was a mistake that would go down as one of the biggest unforced errors in sports. Jacobellis endured the criticism and second-guessing of Olympic commentators, sportswriters, and detractors. She was dropped by sponsors, ridiculed in the press, and grilled by interviewers. But Jacobellis refused to let her fall define her. It took her sixteen years of perseverance, training, and life coaching before, at the age of 36, Jacobellis reached the podium and became the oldest US female athlete to capture gold in Winter Olympic History.
"I was shattered, and furious with myself, and even a little bit humiliated," Jacobellis says of the 2006 fall. "Naturally I wanted to turn back time and undo what I had done, but there was no hiding from what had happened, no way to undo this one moment that appeared to mark my undoing. . After spending so much time trying to get out from under that race in Torino, I started to realize there were so many lessons to be learned from stumbling like that in such a public way. I kept telling myself my story would not end with me on my butt on the side of a mountain in Italy. I vowed to write a different ending."
UNFORGIVING is an honest account of one life-altering misstep and its aftermath, and an intimate look at what it means to come of age as an athlete. After years of maintaining an unbreakable public persona, Jacobellis opens up for the first time about the weight of expectations, the pain of falling short, and the tenacity, hard work, and confidence it takes to persevere.
ABOUT LINDSEY JACOBELLIS
: Five-time Olympian Lindsey Jacobellis is the most dominant snowboardcross rider of all time. She is a 2x Olympic gold medalist, 1x Olympic silver medalist, 6-time world champion and 10-time X Games gold medalist. Her World Cup win in Germany marked 31 victories, making her the winningest snowboarder in history. She is a member of the U.S. Snowboardcross Team and is the inspirational leader and mentor for Super Girl Snow Pro. She continues to compete professionally and lives in Southern California when not on tour.
Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall
https://www.amazon.com/Unforgiving-Lessons-Fall-Lindsey-Jacobellis-ebook/dp/B0BPT1SMLW
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