KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia – Even though the Olympic-winning snowboard didn't have his name on it, Jake Burton found a way to get his hands in on the action.
Iouri Podladtchikov's gloves: Worn by Burton.
The inventor of the modern snowboard ran into Podladtchikov at the Burton European Open in January, and noticed a hole in one of I-Pod's gloves.
"I gave him mine," Burton said shortly after Podladtchikov's gold-medal win Tuesday night. "He rode in them tonight. He's my glove buddy."
The gold-medal gloves are hardly the only gift Burton has bestowed upon snowboarding. In fact, this sport probably wouldn't exist if it weren't for the 59-year-old entrepreneur's decision to take a contraption then called the "Snurfer" and turn it into the modern-day snowboard.
He started mass producing them and snowboarding is a billion-dollar industry these days, now making its fifth appearance at the Olympics.
I-Pod is standing on top of that world.
"A great guy. An entertainer. The crowd loves him. He's a great snowboarder," Burton said. "He can do it all. I'm proud of him. I think he's great for the sport."
— By Eddie Pells — Twitter http://twitter.com/epells
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Associated Press reporters are filing dispatches about happenings in and around Sochi during the 2014 Winter Games. Follow AP journalists covering the Olympics on Twitter: http://apne.ws/1c3WMiu
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