Snowboard forefather Burton gone, not forgotten at Olympics

By EDDIE PELLS
AP National Writer

ZHANGJIAKOU, China (AP) — Jake Burton Carpenter died in 2019, and his absence is being felt at the Beijing Olympics, the first without him for the sport he created and brought to the masses. Shaun White, Louie Vito and a number of riders said they miss having Burton Carpenter in the crowd. They all believe they might not have been at these Winter Games had Burton Carpenter not brought the sport so far. The “Burton” name is stamped in big letters across the bottom of many of the Olympic boards after he helped invent the modern snowboard and became one of the sport’s premier manufacturers.