Maltese American snowboarder Jenise Spiteri has placed 21st out of 22 in the Half Pipe qualifiers. She also became the first ever snowboarder to represent Malta at the Olympics. She unfortunately fell on her first round of the event but managed to successfully complete the second round. Spiteri ended the preliminary with a score of 25.25, ending any chances to represent Malta one step further in the final.
I really wanted to show the world the best snowboarding I could do and I’m a little bummed I didn’t put on the show I’m capable of. However, seeing the hundreds of tweets from people congratulating me here really makes me feel special. Thank you all for the support! pic.twitter.com/uHEE9FO5rF
— Jenise Spiteri (@jenisespiteri) February 9, 2022
Even though her performance wasn’t what she was hoping for, Jenise instantly became a fan favourite with press and fans. This unexpected fame came from her post event interview, where she took a bao bun out of her jacket’s pocket and started eating it. This plus her joyful personality and tri colour hair led to her being written about by the New York Times and being badgered with questions from fans and press alike, even posting a story on her Instagram stating that this might be the “Most press attention a 21st place has ever gotten”.
Jenise Spiteri from Malta pulled a bao bun out of her pocket after her halfpipe run 😂 #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/YSGI9QtrTN
— On Her Turf (@OnHerTurf) February 9, 2022
Spiteri later on said “They’re my favourite thing to eat at the Olympic village, I’ve been eating six red bean paste buns every day, two for breakfast, two for lunch and two for dinner,”
“This morning I was too nervous to swallow any food so I put them in my backpack. I didn’t realise that I still had one in my pocket when I did the run, so I was like ‘Oh okay! Now I can finally eat’.”
We congratulate Jenise for making Maltese people around the world proud and on her newfound fame!
#MaltaDaily