"Tell me I can't do something and watch me get obsessed with proving you wrong," Baumgartner tells PEOPLE
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NEED TO KNOW
- Olympic snowboarder Nick Baumgartner tells PEOPLE his goal is to compete in the 2034 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah
- Baumgartner will be 52 years old when the Games come to Utah, but he says he’s “absolutely” going to “find out” if he can do it
- Baumgartner says his best kept secret is doing a sauna and cold plunge daily
Olympic snowboarder Nick Baumgartner, 44, isn't ready to slow down.
Instead, the Team USA star, who finished seventh in men's snowboard cross at the 2026 Games, is hoping to compete in the 2034 Olympics when it returns to the U.S. in Salt Lake City, Utah — even though he'll be 52.
"I've done the math. 52 years old in a sport dominated by youth. Is it possible? I don't know. Am I going to find out? Absolutely," he tells PEOPLE with a smile, while in Milan.
"As long as I'm competitive and I'm having fun, which go together, so I'm going to continue to push," says the father of son Landon, 20.
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Baumgartner, who won an Olympic gold medal alongside Lindsey Jacobellis at the 2022 Beijing Games, says, "My whole career has been very tough because I was raising a kid and my parents had to step up big time to allow me to keep chasing this dream."
Now, Landon is "out of the house" and about to graduate from college, giving his dad more time to focus on his training.
"The amount of effort I have to do in the off season is incredible to be able to keep up with these kids," he says of his competitors, many of whom are his son's age.
Baumgartner says people "keep questioning me" when he tells them he wants to compete in eight years, but he’s confident he can keep up with his training and go for it.
His best secret for feeling “20 years younger” at 44? The sauna and cold plunge, Baumgartner tells PEOPLE.
“I take a sauna every single night. It’s my fountain of youth. That’s how I continue to be able to push my body at this age, because when it hurts, I go in the sauna and then I do the cold tub contrast."
Whether or not he makes it to the 2034 Olympics, one thing is for sure — Baumgartner will keep pushing. “I love pushing my body to see what I’m capable of and to redefine what people think is possible.”
“People love telling you what you can’t do, there’s always someone on the computer telling you you’re crazy, but that’s free motivation. Tell me I can’t do something and watch me get obsessed with proving you wrong. It’s my favorite part about sport.”
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.
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