This squirrel had the run of its life during the women’s snowboard slalom event, and it deserves all the medals
As the 2018 Winter Olympics start winding down, it’s time to reflect on its many breakout stars. The U.S. women’s hockey team won gold. Chloe Kim became the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding medal with a gold-winning finish in the women’s snowboard halfpipe. Adam Rippon emerged as a fan favorite, both on and off the ice. But no one could have predicted an Olympic squirrel to emerge as one of the games’ furriest celebrities.
But that’s exactly what happened in PyeongChang on Saturday, February 24th, when a particularly brave squirrel darted onto the course during the women’s snowboard parallel giant slalom event. The “Olympic squirrel” — which we’ve decided is officially the critter’s nickname now — seemed to appear out of nowhere as Austria’s Daniela Ulbing competed in her heat.
Somehow this didn’t cause an accident, for the animal or the human. We imagine it would take a lot of skill to avoid hitting a squirrel while racing downhill on a snowboard. After all, it’s hard enough to avoid squirrels when you’re driving!
Viewers were especially impressed that Ulbing was able to win the heat, despite sharing the spotlight with the Olympic squirrel. However, it was ultimately the Czech Republic’s Ester Ledecká who went on to win gold.
If you ask us, both the squirrel and Ulbing deserve some kind of special medal. See the miraculous moment for yourself:
WATCH OUT SQUIRREL. pic.twitter.com/rtQ94MQeDj
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 24, 2018
Twitter, of course, erupted in cheers.
You say "Squirrel Avoids Snowboarder," I say "Squirrel Olympics Feature Different Sports"
— John Mangrum (@jwmangrum) February 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/967258292073500672
Squirrel: "Lemme play! Lemme play"
*swoosh*
Squirrel: "Run away! Run away!" https://t.co/md9V6iOY9L— LafayetteQ1067 (@LafayetteQ1067) February 24, 2018
Luckily, the now-famous Olympic squirrel was able to scamper off without injury.
Let’s hope the little guy has a big storage of nuts to go home to.
