Winter Olympics 2022 — Lindsey Jacobellis and Nathan Chen get redemption, 41-year-old John Clarey wins silver and other moments that have inspired us so far

The 2022 Winter Olympics aren’t even at the halfway point, but we’ve already seen some incredible moments. From the heartwarming to the inspiring, here are some of our favorites so far.

A gold medal 16 years in the making

In 2006, Lindsey Jacobellis was one jump away from securing the gold medal in snowboardcross. With a sizable lead between her and the next-closest competitor, it looked like all but a guarantee. And then the unthinkable happened — she attempted a trick and fell. Tanja Frieden passed her and Jacobellis had to settle for the silver.

She competed in the next three Olympics, hoping to claim what had once seemed so tantalizing close, but never reached the podium.

At 36, and likely participating in her final Olympics, Jacobellis wasn’t a favorite to medal in 2022. But she took the lead early in the final — and never relinquished it. She crossed the finish line to win her first gold medal, and the first for Team USA in Beijing. She became the oldest U.S. woman athlete to win a medal of any kind at the Winter Olympics.

Even most of her opponents were thrilled for her.

“I don’t think there’s any words that can capture that moment,” her teammate Stacy Gaskill, 21, tearfully told The New York Times. “For Lindsey to win in her fifth Games and be at the pinnacle of this sport so long and inspire so many young girls like me — she is the face of this sport.”

WHAT A MOMENT, @LindsJacobellis!

GOLDEN GOAT. #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/x9g5wWFjXe

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 9, 2022

The admiration for Jacobellis wasn’t limited to her competitors. Reporting for NBC Connecticut, Jacobellis’ cousin Gabrielle Lucivero was in attendance at the race, and she couldn’t hide her emotion either in a live report.

“She’s my role model,” Lucivero said. “She’s done everything for me. She’s the reason I am doing what I do.”

Redemption complete

Four years after his disappointment in Pyeongchang, Nathan Chen arrived in Beijing looking for a clean slate — and a coveted gold…