Jenise Spiteri
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| National team | Malta |
| Born | September 20, 1992 Redwood City, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Sierra Nevada College |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Snowboarding |
Jenise Lynae Spiteri (born September 20, 1992) is a Maltese-American snowboarder. The first Maltese Olympic snowboarder, she competed in the halfpipe event at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Biography
Spiteri was born on September 20, 1992, in Redwood City, California.[1] She has Maltese ancestry, with her grandfather having emigrated to the United States from there after his home was destroyed in World War II.[2][3] She grew up initially wanting to be an actress, appearing in several commercials when young.[4][5]
Snowboarding career
Spiteri began her snowboarding career in 2010 while at Sierra Nevada College, after writing a social media post that read "Wanted: someone to teach me how to ride pipe tomorrow. Anyone available?"[6][7]
Spiteri competed for the team at Sierra Nevada and decided her goal was to represent Malta at the Winter Olympic Games.[4] A teammate made the suggestion and Spiteri realized it made sense as a way to pay homage to her grandfather, who died in 2010, as he had a connection to the Olympics through his company that produced figure-skating equipment for Olympians such as Michelle Kwan.[4]
Despite going through several injuries, including a torn ACL in 2012, another in 2017 as well as a torn meniscus the latter year, Spiteri continued snowboarding.[6] She was a top-15 finisher for Malta at the 2014–15 FIS Snowboard World Cup and just barely missed qualifying for the 2018 Winter Olympics by one spot, despite competing through her ACL and meniscus injuries.[6] As snowboarding is expensive, Spiteri lived out of a car, then a van, and worked several odd jobs (including being an extra in Euphoria) while reusing her gear each season, additionally opening a GoFundMe account to help pay for the costs.[4] She also ran several social media accounts, gaining over 30,000 subscribers on YouTube.[6][8]
Spiteri finally qualified for the Olympics in 2022, and thus became Malta's first Olympic snowboarder, their only participant at the 2022 games, and only their second participant all-time at the Winter Olympics in any sport.[4][7] She served as Malta's flag bearer and competed in the women's halfpipe event, placing 21st, eating a bao between runs that she forgot she had kept in her pocket.[1][8][9]
References
- ^ a b "Jenise Spiteri". Olympedia. Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
- ^ Tom, Matthew (February 15, 2022). "Olympian Jenise Spiteri, a San Francisco native who trained in Tahoe, responds to 'haters' 12 years later". SFGATE. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
- ^ "Jenise Spiteri becomes first ever Maltese snowboarder to compete at the Winter Olympics". Malta Daily. January 22, 2022. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Petri, Alexandra E. (February 8, 2022). "For Malta's only athlete at the Games, it was a long road to snowboarding in Beijing: Ten years after asking friends on Facebook to help her learn the halfpipe, Jenise Spiteri is the first snowboarder to ever represent Malta at the Olympics". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
- ^ Lindeman, Phil (January 22, 2016). "Take 5: Jenise Spiteri, the first Maltese national snowboarder". Summit Daily News. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Nickle, Lori (February 9, 2022). "Dumpling-eating California snowboarder competing for Malta might be the most interesting person at the Winter Olympics". USA Today. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
- ^ a b Byrnes, Liz (2022). "Jenise Spiteri claps back at doubters: "Actually, I'm an Olympian.": Team Malta athlete has last laugh at people who dismissed her snowboarding dream after she competes at the Olympic Winter Games". Olympic Games. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
- ^ a b "Rainbow-haired snowboarder puts Malta in rare Winter Olympic spotlight". France 24. February 9, 2022. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
- ^ Mendoza, Diego (February 9, 2022). "Malta snowboarder wins over fans after pulling bao bun from pocket after Olympic run". WKYC. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.