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Canadian snowboarder Jasey-Jay Anderson defends American-born snowboarder Vic Wild’s decision to compete for Russia

Andrew Bucholtz

American-born snowboarder Vic Wild competes for Russia now, which saw him and his wife Alena Zavarzina both win medals within minutes of each other in the parallel giant slalom Wednesday, and he's taken plenty of criticism for that from some quarters. However, Wild has one fervent defender in his corner, Canadian snowboarding legend Jasey-Jay Anderson. Anderson, a four-time gold medal winner at the snowboarding world championships and the gold medallist in parallel giant slalom at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, is a widely-respected elder statesman in parallel giant slalom (he was the oldest competitor in the event in Sochi), and while he was eliminated in the first post-qualifying round Wednesday, he still made news for his passionate defence of Wild. Here's what he said, via Lisa Dillman of The Los Angeles Times:

Those are strong words from Anderson, but, at the very least, he's certainly right that Wild didn't switch to competing for Russia just because it sounded cool. From NBC's Olympic Talk, here's why he made the move:

The drastic change came at a career crossroads in 2011. Wild, then 24, had been competing since his mid-teens with zero top-five finishes in World Cup races.

Alpine is the only Olympic snowboarding discipline not in the Winter X Games, the sport’s annual showcase event. Sponsors are scant in the U.S. Money is meager.

Wild was prepared to quit, dissatisfied not only with his results but also support and funding from the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association [USSA].

He said he lacked coaching, snowboard technicians and the kind of logistical aid to travel from competition to competition.

“People didn’t really want to help me there [in the U.S.],” Wild said in a phone interview. “The USA wasn’t into it, man.”

How was he able to make the switch despite his lack of success to that point and Russia's strict standards for athletes switching countries? Well, he happened to be dating the perfect person:

But as he contemplated his future, Wild began dating Russian Alpine snowboarder Alena Zavarzina, whom he had known since 2009 and had just won a World Championship in January 2011.

Wild spent extended time with Zavarzina in Moscow, and a Russian coach proposed a solution so he could keep riding.

Switch countries.

“It was a little bit crazy, but I wasn’t that worried about it,” said Wild, whose given name, Victor Ivan, sounds Russian. “I knew it would give me an opportunity to stay with Alena, which she was really important to me at the time. And also it would give me a chance to reach my goals in snowboarding. I knew that if I gave up, stopped, then I would probably be bitter about it.

“But we hit some roadblocks.”

The Russia Ministry of Sport criteria required Wild to have won an Olympic or World Championships medal to gain citizenship. Wild had never competed in the Olympics, and his best World Championships finish was 10th.

There was one other option, officials said. Marriage.

Wild and Zavarzina discussed it thoroughly both in Russia and during a monthlong trip to Wild’s home in the Pacific Northwest.

“We decided, you know what, let’s go for it, let’s get married,” he said. “We decided it’s the only chance we’ve got. We both kind of knew that it would work out.”

It definitely worked out for Wild Wednesday. That's not going to stop criticism of his decision from Americans angry that he switched countries, but it's notable that the U.S. snowboard team and American competitor Justin Reiter both sent out congratulatory tweets to Wild:

Nationality and athletes competing for one's country is a key part of the popularity of the Olympics, so decisions like Wild's are always going to be criticized, but it's worth noting that most countries benefit from these kinds of moves as well. Sure, Russia gained and America lost from Wild's decision, but there have been plenty of athletes born elsewhere who have chosen to represent the U.S. at the Olympics (including Canadian-born ones like Tanith Belbin and Sydney Leroux). That's seen in the coaching world, too, with moves like noted Canadian bobsledder Pierre Lueders coaching the Russian team to gold in Sochi. Canada can't exactly complain, either, as plenty of Canadian Olympic success has come from athletes born elsewhere (including Lueders' old brakeman Lascelles Brown, who was born in Jamaica). Not everyone will agree with Anderson's defence of Wild, and that's fine, but he makes some strong points, and he certainly knows the alpine snowboarding funding landscape. It's interesting that Anderson so fervently defended an athlete from another country, but good for him for speaking his mind. He may not have medalled in Sochi, but he definitely made an impact still.