Multiple Wipe Outs for USA, Aussie Wins Halfpipe

No less than four US women were competing (and had a good chance) in the women’s halfpipe this evening.  But there was almost as much wiping out for the competitors as there was solid performances. The qualifying runs had promised a spectacular show for the finals, but it seemed everyone had blown their energy on earlier runs. Even gold medalist, Torah Bright from Australia, bought it on her first run.  Her second, however, was the tightest technical performance of the evening, even to these novice eyes. Silver medalist and defending champ Hannah Teeter did a good job on her first run and looked like she was going to pull out the stops for the second, but she made small mistakes that slowed her down, making the run look half-hearted.  The bronze went to US competitor Kelly Clark.

Just as an aside, Liu Jiayu of China finished fourth.  It’s interesting to see how the Chinese have embraced snowboarding.  Everyone was talking about how they have really made a push to train some superior snowboarders, but that somehow it violated the spirit of the sport.  Rigorous training for a sport that began out of freewheeling exhuberance and devil-may-care attitude is a little out of place. What do you think?