Hometown ‘changes’ name for 1st US gold medalist at Olympics

SILVERTHORNE, Colo. (AP) — The hometown of Olympic gold medalist Red Gerard has unofficially upgraded its name in his honor.

A sign welcoming visitors to the Colorado mountain town of Silverthorne was changed over the weekend to “Goldthorne” after the 17-year-old snowboarder captured the United States’ first gold medal at the Winter Olympics in South Korea.

The Summit Daily News reports that someone put up a white banner with red letters spelling out “Gold” that covered up “Silver” in the city name sometime Saturday night or Sunday.

Gerard honed his medal-winning routine in his small backyard snowboard park in the town of about 4,100 people, where many travelers stop on their way to nearby ski resorts.