The Guy Who Won America's First Gold Medal In Sochi Is Your New Favorite Olympic Athlete

Kotsenburg doesn't do the biggest, most dangerous tricks. In fact, the "triple-cork" trick that McMorris did was arguably more difficult than anything Kotsenburg did in the slopestyle finals.

He relies on style more than anything else, and seems to view snowboarding as a leisure activity more than a job. He told Yahoo's Jeff Passan after the qualifying round, "I'd rather not conform to making the judges happy."

That's a radical statement for a sport where judging is everything. But it seems like Kotsenburg is more amused by success than addicted to it.

Here's what he tweeted after the semifinals:

"I'm pretty surprised I won, honestly," he said afterward.

He's just out here having a good time. He doesn't take anything too seriously. If you had to describe him in a word, it'd be "chill."

When asked about the judging controversies that plagued the competition earlier this week, he said simply, "Sometimes they're super down for the stuff and sometimes there not."

He's the best: