Red Gerard and Hailey Langland, USA's snowboard 'power couple'

The last four years have spanned highs, lows and lessons for snowboard power couple Hailey Langland and Red Gerard

The Team USA pair started dating weeks before they made their Winter Olympic debuts at PyeongChang 2018 after a lifelong friendship.

Gerard arrived at the Games unaware of its magnitude and found the glare of the spotlight overwhelming following his triumph in the snowboard slopestyle.

For Langland, self-imposed pressure and the burden of her own expectation combined with poor weather on the day of competition, contributed to leave her mentally spent.

She finished sixth in the slopestyle and 14th in the big air.

The post-Olympic period was difficult for both but they came into Beijing 2022 four years older and wiser and appreciating the support of the other.

Gerard said ahead of the Games: “It’s incredible, I feel super lucky,”

“To snowboard with your girlfriend, your best friend, both of us push each other in really good ways. She’s a lot more mellow, I have a lot more anxiety.”

He added: “It’s amazing that we get to travel the world together. A lot of us don’t get to go home for months, so to travel with your girlfriend and have these small little vacations where we’re doing our job and learning tricks and filming each other is awesome.”

Langland concurred, pointing to the benefit of having someone alongside her who has personal experience and insight.

In an interview with ESPN, she said:"We're so lucky in those moments to be able to talk to someone who really understands. It's not like talking to a coach or my dad, who doesn't really know because they're not in the exact same position we are in."

Gerard-Langland: From friends to soul mates

Born weeks apart on opposite sides of the United States, the pair first met when they were 12 in Mount Hood, Oregon.

Gerard would text Langland funny messages, making her laugh, and the pair became the best of friends.

Her mother Michelle predicted they would one day date, something Langland did not expect at all.

She said: "I think everyone but me saw it. I'd say, 'No, we're too young. We're too good of friends.' But it made sense. Even though we spend every single day together, I don't think we get tired of one another. He's my favourite person to be around."

Over time, though, feelings changed and the pair started a relationship shortly before the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Langland recalled: "When we were 17, it just sort of happened. It was January, right before the Olympics. It's a super cliché story, but it's our story."

Two-time Olympic champion Jamie Anderson, who is engaged to former Team Canada athlete Tyler Nicholson, described Langland and Gerard as "a little power couple".

She noted: "When I was younger, it seemed the boys didn't want to date snowboarders. But since Ty and I got together almost 10 years ago, I've seen a lot more snowboarders pair up and it warms my heart. I think we made it okay."

Highs and lows at PyeongChang 2018

The pair experienced contrasting Olympic Winter Games four years ago.

Gerard famously slept in on the morning of his slopestyle and, having lost his own jacket, he was forced to borrow a teammate's.

He pulled out a superb final run to elevate himself to the top of the podium and at 17 years and 227 days he became the second youngest men's individual champion and the youngest gold medallist in any snowboarding event.

The ensuing spotlight was tough to contend with and took him away from the slopes.

"The media part was hard, going back and forth to New York and LA and all the interviews," he said. "I was like, the only reason I'm here is because I snowboard, and I haven't snowboarded in a month and a half. That was hard for me."

Langland finished sixth in the slopestyle and 14th in the big air, and she too took time to absorb her experience.

"I was pretty hung up on the Olympics, and it took me a couple years to get over it," she said.

"I don't know when, but something switched. I started to rethink how I wanted to show my snowboarding and how I wanted to show myself to the world."

Things also changed for Gerard. A competitive streak emerged as well as seeing the bigger picture.

"It's been a new step in my life," he said. "I realised you get this opportunity to put snowboarding and yourself on a good platform and you don't want to make yourself or snowboarding look bad."

Gerard-Langland: A second chance at Beijing 2022 on Valentine's Day

Coming into Beijing 2022, there was again intense attention directed towards the pair on and off the slopes.

Much was made of Gerard retaining his title but he finished one place off the podium in fourth while Langland placed 11th.

The pair both have a shot at the big air with the men's and women's qualification runs both taking place at Big Air Shougang on Monday February 14.

Both have gained valuable experience and knowledge about themselves in both a sporting and personal sense.

Langland said: "I've learned life is so short, and I have an incredible opportunity to be on TV showing my snowboarding, so I just want to make it as fun as possible.

"It didn't make me happy when I didn't meet my expectations, and the pressure I put on myself brought my snowboarding down a couple levels and messed with my head."

They have also had to contend with injury and the disruption caused by the pandemic.

Whatever is thrown their way, they have the support of each other, something Gerard happily alluded to, saying: "I've been so incredibly lucky to have her by my side at contests. I'm with her 320 days a year, and I am so lucky for it."

READ: HOW TO WATCH SNOWBOARD INCLUDING FULL SCHEDULE AT BEIJING 2022