Hometown 'Changes' Name For 1st US Gold Medalist At Olympics

SILVERTHORNE, Colo. (AP) — The hometown of Olympic gold medalist Red Gerard has unofficially upgraded its name in his honor.

A sign welcoming visitors to the Colorado mountain town of Silverthorne was changed over the weekend to "Goldthorne" after the 17-year-old snowboarder captured the United States' first gold medal at the Winter Olympics in South Korea.

The Summit Daily News reports that someone put up a white banner with red letters spelling out "Gold" that covered up "Silver" in the city name sometime Saturday night or Sunday.

Gerard honed his medal-winning routine in his small backyard snowboard park in the town of about 4,100 people, where many travelers stop on their way to nearby ski resorts.

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