Industry News
Olympic bronze medalist Alex Deibold announced his retirement on the weekend on his social media accounts. Deibold had been on the U.S. Snowboard Team, competing in the snowboard-cross discipline representing America for almost 20 years.
Deibold grew up in Vermont before moving to Boulder, CO, when he joined the U.S. Snowboard Team. Making the Olympics had been his dream since the age of four, and when he did not make the selection in 2010, he was so determined to sniff some Olympic air he traveled with the team as a wax technician and backup.
His grit and determination paid off, and he qualified for the 2014 Sochi and 2022 Beijing Olympics. In Sochi, he won Bronze in the snowboard cross. He also has years of the World Cup circuit and five World Championships.
Alex Deibold has also been quite open about mental health struggles, admitting that at the end of the season, he would suffer each year from a post-competition ‘slump.’ He admitted to suffering from a lack of motivation, sadness, and depression at the end of each season.
“It’s OK to not be OK all the time,” he posted on his Instagram Account in a lengthy post in which he honestly describes his struggles with a return to post-competition every-day-life. Deibold received much positive feedback from other athletes, who applauded his honesty and admitted they had always felt the need to hide this post-season comedown. “I got phone calls, text messages, and direct messages from athletes I know and from people I don’t know. Those were the ones that were pretty powerful. A young ski racer who’s a friend of mine reached out to me and said, ‘I’m going through the same thing, but I don’t know how to talk about it, so thank you for putting yourself out there because I feel like I’m not alone.’ That meant a lot to me because that’s the idea.”
Likewise, today his Instagram Account saw an outpouring of heartfelt messages worldwide. Leading athletes, like fellow Team USA snowboarders Nick Baumgartner, Senna Leith, and Lindsey Jacobellis, alongside whom he had competed for 22 years, and Paralympian Brenna Huckaby as foreign snowboard athletes wished the 36-year-old athlete the best for his future.
