ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — Snowboard slopestyle rider Jamie Anderson is excited about her trip to the Sochi Games, even though she struggles with the mixed messages she thinks the Olympics really send.
The favorite for gold, Anderson is bothered by the multibillion-dollar industry the Olympics have become, chafes at competing at a sporting event that promotes healthy living but is sponsored by a fast-food chain. She has read the stories about how she’ll be riding only footsteps away from once-pristine land that has been ravaged by Olympic-focused development — the $50 billion pet project of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Anderson says, “There are some negative aspects. I’m trying to rise above them.”
On Saturday, Anderson will go for her fifth gold medal in slopestyle at the Winter X Games.
