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Finally someone is taking a stand against the irrationality and lack of continuity involved in the Winter Olympics.

After the International Olympic Committee decided to drop snowboard racing from the 2018 Winter Olympic docket for Pyeongchang South Korea, Steamboat resident and olympic snowboard racer Justin Reiter is now suing the IOC in a hope to bring back the discipline he fought hard to compete in during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

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Photo Credit: Justin Reiter Facebook Page

According to the Denver Post, Reiter lived out of his Toyota Tundra truck for an entire year and practiced without a coach as he vied for a spot at the 2014 olympics. Turns out, all that hard work paid off as he became the only US competitor in the discipline. However, the chance to compete in the next winter olympics maybe impossible… That is if he doesn’t win the lawsuit he filed through the Lausanne district Court in Switzerland. The court is set to hold its first hearing of the case on Friday.

Many assume snowboard racing was directly replaced by snowboarding big air as a marketing ploy by the IOC to attract a younger audience to the Winter Olympic games.

However, Reiter is fighting back. Along with the lawsuit, the snowboard racer has collected over 15,000 signatures attached to a petition whose goal is to bring parallel slalom snowboard racing back to the olympics. Along with the petition, Reiter has released a YouTube video that details the reasons for his lawsuit.

“The IOC has established a process for determination of its Olympic events that has been progressive and evolved the Olympic program through time. We respect that process. At the same time, we also respect the rights of athletes like Justin Reiter to express their concerns to the IOC and other sports bodies”USSA’s vice president of athletics Luke Bodensteiner

“The reason why I’m electing to do this and fighting to win is to set a precedent for athletes to follow and we can begin to get more things right. I want to reverse this decision and set a precedent that can benefit all athletes, so athletes have the opportunity to dream. I can’t sit idly by and let this happen. Over and over again the IOC oversteps its bounds because athletes are disposable to them. That’s not right.”– Justin Reiter

Read the entire Denver Post Article Here: Olympian Justin Reiter sues IOC to reinstate snowboarding racing

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