— The journey began a decade ago when Torah Bright and older brother Ben decided to ditch their skis for a snowboard.
It was a choice that forced them to leave their native Australia and hop from continent to continent in search of facilities, competition and sponsorship, because snowboarding just isn’t something they do much Down Under.
Maybe they will now.
The gritty 23-year-old Torah soared to gold in the women’s halfpipe Thursday, shaking off a fall during the first run of the finals to end the United States’ run atop the podium. In the stands, her parents Marion and Peter made a surprise appearance to watch the biggest night of her life.
Bright posted a score of 45 to beat defending champion Hannah Teter by 2.6 points Thursday. Kelly Clark was third, giving her a bronze medal to bookend the gold she captured at the Salt Lake City Games eight years ago.
In a final filled with falls and lacking in the fireworks provided by Shaun White in the men’s competition 24 hours earlier, Bright provided the drama.
She cruised through qualifying, posting the top score and earning the right to go last in the finals. Then her momentum vanished moments into her first run, when she washed out and received a 5.9, worst in the 11-rider field.
The low score mean she had to go first on the second run, giving her less than 10 minutes to regroup. Not that there was much need for a head check.
“I was like, ‘Oh well, can’t change that,’” she said. “I tell myself the same things going into any run, any event. It’s just to have fun and I looked down and I was like, ‘We’re going to put on a good show and I’m going to do what I know how to do best.’”
Namely, win.
Throwing together a series of tricks that have put her at the leading edge of the sport, she told the rest of the field “come and get me.”
Nobody did.
Not Clark, considered the favorite coming in for her ability to soar higher than her competitors. She struggled during her first run and a couple of wobbles on the second relegated her in third.
Not Teter, who led after the first round but landed awkwardly twice during her second run.
Not 2006 silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler, who stumbled in the finals and finished 11th.
Nobody could beat the girl who moved away from Coomba, New South Wales a decade ago, intent on pursuing her passion even if it meant becoming a snowboarding nomad.
She’s gotten used to it, and it’s helped she’s had Ben — who also serves as her coach — at her side.
“We’ve sacrificed a lot for this moment, traveling the world and leaving home at such a young age,” Ben Bright said.
Peter and Marion offered to bring a little bit of Australia to Vancouver, but she told them to stay in Coomba and save their money to attend her wedding to fiance Jake Welch in June.
After a decade watching their children roam the earth, Peter and Marion weren’t going to let a little six-hour drive north to Sydney and 20 hours on a plane keep them from Cypress Mountain.
Their trip remained a secret to Torah and Ben, but keeping it wasn’t easy. When the two popped into the house they’re staying at for the games on Wednesday afternoon, Peter and Marion ducked into a closet.
Bright didn’t see her folks until she’d completed her final run. She clasped her hands over her mouth in shock.
The surprises were just starting.
Clark came in as the favorite. She’d dominated the competition in the run-up to the games and was riding as well as ever. Yet the 26-year-old couldn’t summon enough magic during her second run.
Teter took the lead following her first run and was hoping to knock Bright off the top of the podium. It didn’t happen, though the medals by Clark and Teter gave the United States 14 of the 24 medals since the halfpipe debuted in Nagano 12 years ago.
This time, however, the top of the podium belonged to an Aussie.
“Torah was ‘on fi-yah,’” said Teter, who will donate the money she receives from the U.S. Olympic Committee for her silver medal to Haitian disaster relief.
Bright is considered one of the most physically gifted riders in the world, one that’s unafraid to tackle some of the toughest tricks.
She’s been tinkering with a “double cork” — a move that requires riders to flip twice — though she didn’t do it in Vancouver because the walls offered little room to stick the landing. The trick is popular with the guys, but no girl has been able to land it in competition.
At least, not yet.
Bright will keep it in her back pocket for now. She didn’t need it to win gold. She will if she wants to keep her spot at the front of the line.
“I guess you’d call her a captain of industry at the moment for the girls,” her brother, Ben Bright, said. “She’s progressive with the products that she brings to the sport and she’s progressive with the tricks.”
All that risk has taken a considerable physical toll. Bright has struggled to stay healthy, suffering through a shoulder injury that required surgery last year and the road back has been bumpy. She returned to competition in October but had to skip the X Games after slamming her head twice in three days.
Bright hugged her brother after clinching the gold while a crowd of fans — one of them holding a sign that read “Torah, we adore ya” — roared its approval.
The fan club quickly grew. As Bright made her way through the interview area following the flower ceremony a phone rang. On the other end was Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, and Bright said they had a brief “lovely” chat.
This doesn’t happen at the X Games.
“The Olympics is something special, no doubt about it,” Bright said.
So is having your parents there to watch it. It made up for the long stretches away from Australia, a land known more for its white beaches and surfing than shredding through the snow.
That all might change now.
Asked what Bright’s victory means for her homeland, teammate Holly Crawford said “every girl in Australia is going to want a snowboard.”
By Paul Newberry, AP National Writer
RICHMOND, British Columbia (AP) — Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick will never be the best of friends.
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That’s OK.
At least all that nastiness from Turin is behind them. And now everyone can focus on what these two have accomplished inside the oval.
With another big race to go at the Vancouver Games, Davis and Hedrick are assured of going down as two of the greatest speedskaters in U.S. history, instead of being tainted by their feud at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they battled over Davis not skating a team event.
Davis became the first Olympian to win the 1,000 meters twice when he defended his title Wednesday, somehow finding a little extra speed on the last half-lap to pull out the gold. Joining him on the podium was Hedrick, whose bronze made him the only American male outside of the great Eric Heiden to claim medals at four different distances.
“All that stuff that was done before, man, that is old news,” Hedrick said. “I just hope people will look at us in a different light and think, man, those guys are good athletes, rather than wondering who wants to fight with who.”
The two stood together on the victory stand, each holding one end of an American flag.
“Him and I getting together and carrying the American flag, I think that shows that, you know what, people misread us,” said Hedrick, who added to the medals he won in the 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 at the 2006 games. “We just want to win.”
Davis became just the third American man to win more than one speedskating gold medal, joining Heiden (five at the 1980 Lake Placid Games) and Irving Jaffee (two golds at the ‘32 Games, also in Lake Placid).
“When you’re a world champion or an Olympic champion, you get this little thing on your back called a target,” Davis said. “To go out there and win the 1,000 meters twice is truly amazing.”
Davis dug deep on his final lap, knowing he needed a little more speed to catch South Korea’s Mo Tae-bum. The American swung both arms twice before leaning into the final turn, giving him just enough of a boost for a time of 1 minute, 8.94 seconds.
Mo, who won gold in the 500 two days earlier, settled for silver this time, 18-hundreths behind Davis. Hedrick was next in 1:09.32.
Davis and Hedrick will face each other again on Saturday in the 1,500, both looking to add to their medal haul. Davis is world-record holder in that event, just as he is in the 1,000, but Hedrick is the only guy to beat him at the longer distance during the World Cup season.
“With me not having as good of a start, I have to pretty much focus on the 1,500,” Hedrick said. “This is a great sign for me, only losing by four-tenths in the 1,000 and knowing that Saturday is a longer race.”
When he won the 1,000 four years ago, Davis became the first African-American athlete to win an individual gold at the Winter Games. This time, he simply wanted to be known for his skating.
After spotting his winning time, Davis pumped both fists and slapped hands with the U.S. coaches on the backstretch. Then, as he coasted around near the finish line, Hedrick skated over to shake his hand firmly and pat him on the back several times.
Their accomplishments in 2006 — Davis won a gold and silver; Hedrick a medal of each color — were overshadowed by that nasty feud stemming from team pursuit. Davis wanted to stick with his individual events, a decision that peeved Hedrick, who believed it cost the Americans a shot at a medal.
Their animosity boiled over at a news conference after the 1,500, in which Davis finished second and Hedrick third. Hedrick brought up the team pursuit, and Davis stormed out of the room complaining that Hedrick didn’t congratulate him on his gold, only the silver.
No hard feelings this time.
While Davis was favored for gold, Hedrick’s bronze was a surprise. The brash Texan had a long layoff after Turin and wasn’t even sure if he wanted to skate at another Olympics.
“I had to dig down deep and find my passion for speedskating again,” Hedrick said.
He had not won a major race since 2006 until his December victory over Davis at the World Cup in Calgary. Davis came back the following week to beat Hedrick — and set a world record — at the Olympic oval outside of Salt Lake City.
They’ll go at it again Saturday.
No matter what happens, their place in speedskating history is secure.
“We’re both at the top of our game,” Davis said, “and we both want to win.”
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Even after being shut out for a day, the United States is on pace for an impressive medal haul at the Vancouver Olympics.
And the biggest American stars have barely contributed yet.
Shaun White, Shani Davis and Apolo Anton Ohno are all competing Wednesday in what is shaping up as the most intriguing day so far for the U.S. NBC will showcase the three in prime time Wednesday along with Lindsey Vonn, who will have competed earlier in the day in the downhill.
White is competing in the halfpipe, Davis tries for gold in 1,000-meter speedskating, and Ohno will race in preliminary short track heats.
The U.S. didn’t win a medal Tuesday but still finished the day with eight, one behind first-place Germany. The Americans won only six medals at the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, the last time the Olympics were held in Canada.
Granted, some sports have been added to the program since, but the U.S. has shown progress in traditional events, too, winning a medal in Nordic combined for the first time over the weekend. Even Bode Miller managed a bronze medal in the men’s downhill, redeeming himself a bit for his 2006 flameout.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Those new age snowboarders went head-to-head against the crown jewel of all ski races on Day 4 of the Olympics — and the guys in the baggy suits might have stolen the day
Traditionalists will cringe at the suggestion, but Seth Wescott’s come-from-behind win the men’s snowboardcross final on Monday was every bit as compelling as Swiss skier Didier Defago’s victory in the men’s downhill.
There is a different aspect,” Wescott said, “when you have people racing head-to-head on the hill.”
The event is only in the Winter Games for the second time, but already, it’s raising a question. Could snowboardcross eventually become a signature event of the Olympics, even overtaking the prestigious downhill?
One might have expected a rousing “You bet” type of answer from Wescott, but the American was analytical when discussing why his victory — not Defago’s — might be the top watercooler topic for the next few days.
“I’ve been a fan of ski racing a majority of my life,” Wescott said. “And, to me, it’s thrilling. But to the average person who doesn’t understand the nuances of the edge control and all that stuff, it’s maybe not so amazing to see. I think the interesting thing for people watching snowboardcross is to watch the head-to-head aspect and see people come from behind.”
The snowboardcross-downhill head-to-head was totally accidental. The downhill was supposed to be run Saturday, but weather forced a postponement for the high-speed daredevils in the skintight suits. Wescott said he was “bummed” over that development because he wanted to watch fellow American Bode Miller, who won bronze behind Defago and Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal.
That’s good news for skiers in the southern part of the U.S., where snow fell in places like the Florida panhandle. And I find it a little ironic that our remarkable ski blogger Chelsi Moy happens to be in the only state without measurable snow when 49 states reported freshly fallen white stuff on the ground on Friday, Feb. 11. She’s in Hawaii for the week, but keep checking back to MontanaSnowSports.com for updates on our current ski conditions and the goings on from all our great ski destinations. Someone will be here all week.
Cache Gibbons catches some air last Saturday at a freestyle terrain park built at old Marshall Mountain Ski Area to promote the sport. Ride Montana Festival featured six rails and jumps to get skiers and snowboarders interested in freestyle events. Photo by TOM BAUER/Missoulian
This weekend is going to be crazy at Snowbowl! Not only is there a major ski race (see below post) but it’s the second weekend of open freestyle skiing in the temporary terrain park. The park is hosted by the Backwoods Project, a grassroots effort aimed to get people excited about freestyle skiing.
Last weekend the volunteer group hosted the inaugural Ride MT Festival at Marshall Ski Area, which was covered here on montanasnowsports.com and the Missoulian. It was pretty sweet.
All of this is just in time for the Olympics, too! If you’re not jazzed about winter sports now, well, shoot, you may just never be.
The terrain park opens Saturday around 11 a.m. and will be open Sunday and Monday, too. Gregg Janecky with the Backwoods Project was at Snowbowl yesterday setting up the park, so go get your rail on!
If you’re at Snowbowl this weekend, expect hundreds of teens and young adults running around in spandex. This weekend is one of two major downhill Alpine ski races at the local ski area. It’s for anyone 13 years old and up. The other major race is the first weekend in March for kids 12 and younger.
The weekend’s race — which is Saturday, Sunday and Monday — is a big race for the 13- and 14-year-old skiers. They are competing to qualify for the Junior Olympics, held at Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort in Oregon the middle of March. So far, 70 men and 50 women from racing teams all across Montana are signed up to compete. Even some collegiate teams will be attending, so the competition is sure to be fierce. And the slalom course will be set up on Sunshine Bowl, which makes for excellent spectating.
I love stories like this! Montanans rule!! The Great Falls Tribune and Associated Press put out a story about all the Montanans on the US Freestyle Mogul team. The top female and male athletes, head coach and head athletic trainer are all from the treasure state.
I worked at the Great Falls Tribune during the last winter Olympics in Turin and was assigned a story to track down as many former winter Olympians from Montana as possible. I interviewed them about their Olympic experiences and the feelings they get every four years during the world games. It was so cool to talk to all these supreme athletes and know they were from MT.
Heather McPhie of Bozeman and Bryon Wilson, center, are representing the United States in the Winter Olympics mogul events this weekend. Their head coach is Scott Rawles, left, who was born in Libby and now lives in Breckenridge, Colo. The head athletic trainer is Justin Hunt, right, who is from Troy (PHOTO COURTESY OF KRISTIE E. MCPHIE OF BOZEMAN)
Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. will compete in all five alpine skiing events at the Vancouver Games, which begin Friday. Photo by Giovanni Auletta/Associated Press
Lindsey Vonn, one of the most popular U.S. Olympic athletes heading into the Vancouver games, is all over the news today.
Here’s a story about the strained relationship with her estranged father, and now news reports say there’s a possibility that a bruised shin will keep Vonn, who is predicted to be a medalist in all five alpine events, from skiing at all.
At the last Olympic winter games in Turin, Vonn sustained an injury from a fall during a practice run, shattering her chances of earning a medal. She took eight in the downhill after getting out of the hospital.
New West guest writer, Betsey Weltner, in a recent story asks: “Have all the bums left Big Sky?” Interesting question, especially in light of the economic downturn. However, my immediate response is no, but that’s because I happen to know a few.
According to the article:
The construction jobs that enabled the ski bum lifestyle during the boom years in Big Sky have gone with the wind, and as a consequence, the ski bums have scattered.
First, while I find the topic interesting, the story struck me as odd because the writer didn’t include the last name of anyone interviewed. But that’s beside the point.
Well, I happen to be related to one, and sometimes two ski bums depending on the year. No, my brother does not ski bum in Bozeman, but my friend Clare does. My brother prefers the powder in Whitefish. My sister, former ski-bum-turned-graduate-student, spent hours carving up the mountains in Idaho. Yes, both work seasonal government jobs — one a firefighter, the other a trail crew worker in GNP. My friend just got back from a year stint in Antarctica.
None of them work during the winter; they ski. It’s not a long term plan, for most, that is. It’s something to pass the time until they figure out their next move. And, yes, that sometimes takes four blissful snowy seasons. So, as long as those seasonal jobs exist, there will forever be powder-hungry skiers and snowboarders occupying lift lines of local ski areas everywhere.
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