Rock Rapids, Iowa (February 8, 2014) – Ignite Christian Academy congratulates alumnus Sage Kotsenburg on his gold medal win in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The 2011 graduate won the first ever Olympic snowboarding slopestyle event on Saturday with a trick he had never performed before.
After placing second in the semifinals early on Saturday, performing a backside 1620 Japan in the gold medal round was a spur of the moment decision according to Sage. The trick, which involves four and a half backwards spins while grabbing the backside of the board, earned him a score of 93.5 and the first gold medal of the 2014 Games. Kotsenburg became the first American since 1952 to win the first gold medal of the Winter Olympics.
"WOW!! I just won the Olympics!! Bringing back the first Gold here to the USA! Love seeing all the support from everyone YOU RULE!!" he tweeted after the slopestyle event wrapped up on Saturday.
Sage is one of many students around the world to receive an accredited Christian education at ICA, which offers more than 150 courses for students in grades K-12. Studying through the flexible, online academy allows students like Sage and his snowboarding siblings, Blaze (a 2009 graduate) and Kirra (currently a senior), the freedom to chase their dreams and achieve athletic excellence while earning a Christ-centered high school education.