Kotsenburg, Sage (1993-…), is a champion American snowboarder. At the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, Kotsenburg won the gold medal in the snowboard slopestyle event, the first time that event was held at the Olympics. In slopestyle competition, athletes perform a series of tricks on a special course that includes such obstacles as rails and jumps. In winning the gold medal, Kotsenburg executed a number of creative and unique tricks, such as flipping in the air 4 1/2 times while holding on to the back of his snowboard.
Sage Cullen Kotsenburg was born on July 27, 1993, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and grew up in Park City, Utah. His parents homeschooled him so he could focus on snowboarding competition. He graduated from an online high school in 2011. Kotsenburg made his debut in snowboarding competition at the age of 12 at the Burton U.S. Open, a major American snowboarding event that attracts leading snowboarders from throughout the world. Kotsenburg began his professional career in 2010 and was named to the U.S. Snowboarding Team in 2011 by U.S. Snowboarding, the governing body of American snowboarding. Following his Olympic success, Kotsenburg took a year off from snowboarding competition, traveling and making films about the sport.
