First SB Press Conference
February 8th, 2006
TORINO, Italy (Feb. 6) - The XX Olympic Winter Games are just days away from opening and that means plenty of media opportunities for the competing athletes. The parallel giant slalom racers and halfpipe riders of the U.S. Olympic Snowboard Team met with the media for the first time in Torino Monday.
The PGS contingent, including Rosey Fletcher (30, Girdwood, AK), Michelle Gorgone (22, Sudbury, MA) and Tyler Jewell (28, Sudbury, MA) took the microphones first.
Fletcher is the only American to compete in all three Olympics in which snowboarding was an official event (1998 in Nagano, 2002 in Salt Lake City, 2006 in Torino). In fact, she was the first American named to the Olympic squad back in '98.
"One thing I've noted this third time around is that this team is really young and really exciting," said Fletcher. "There's a lot of energy. I would have to say that this is going to be my favorite Olympic team by far."
Fletcher, who finished 26th in PGS at the 2002 Olympics, will never forget her experiences in Utah.
"I remember standing at the top of the course and feeling the stomping (of the crowd) at the bottom," said Fletcher. "I was thinking, 'this is incredible.' I can't compare it to anything. It was the most crazy, intense energy I've ever felt."
Both Gorgone and Jewell are first-time Olympians. Coincidentally, they come from the same small town of Sudbury, Massachusetts, about 20 miles west of Boston.
They both started riding at nearby Nashoba Valley, Jewell when he was 10 years old.
"I come from a ski family," said Jewell, who did start out as a ski racer. "I followed my heart and went to snowboarding."
The Olympic men's PGS finals take place in Bardonnechia, Italy Feb. 22 with the women's finals on Feb. 23.
The Olympic Halfpipe Team, which includes Mason Aguirre (18, Mammoth Lakes, CA), Gretchen Bleiler (24, Aspen, CO), Kelly Clark (22, Mount Snow, VT), Andy Finch (23, Fresno, CA), Elena Hight (16, Zephyr Cove, NV), Danny Kass (23, Hamburg, NJ), Hannah Teter (19, Belmont, VT) and Shaun White (19, Carlsbad, CA) took center stage next.
Clark won gold and Kass took the silver in pipe at the '02 Games. Clark waited until the final Chevrolet U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix qualifier at Mountain Creek, New Jersey to turn it on and get the result she needed to make the '06 team. Kass has become a household name in the industry as he's a four-time U.S. Open winner. The Open is considered the granddaddy of all snowboard events.
The other six riders are heading into their first Olympics, but all have solid credentials when it comes to performing at big events.
For example, White recently won double X Games gold in slopestyle (his fourth straight gold in slope) and superpipe, tying him with legendary multi-sport athlete Shaun Palmer for the most gold medals in the history of the Winter X Games with six.
At 15, White barely missed making the 2002 Olympic team, but left no one wondering this time as he swept all five Grand Prix superpipes.
Jokingly, White said "I just barely made it on the team again."
Finch, affectionately dubbed "The Bulldog", is one of the most powerful riders out there. He qualified for his first Olympics in the final pipe event at Mountain Creek.
Bleiler just missed going to the Games in '02 but she wasn't going to let that happen again. She won four of five qualifying events and finished second in the fifth.
"It's been a childhood dream of mine to be in the Olympics one day, and here I am," said Bleiler. "It's unbelievable and I'm so proud to be here."
Teter, who was a forerunner in the '02 Olympics, finished on the podium in three Grand Prix contests. Hight was on the podium at all five Grand Prixs, while Aguirre posted a pair of Grand Prix top-three finishes and took second in superpipe at the X Games.
Hight, the youngest member of the team, recalls watching the 2002 Games on TV at the age of 12.
"I remember watching the halfpipe in class," said Hight. "Now, it's crazy how much I've progressed. It's just awesome to be here and have this opportunity."
The Olympic men's halfpipe finals take place in Bardonnechia on Feb. 12 and the women follow on Feb. 13.
Snowboardcross, making its debut as an Olympic event, takes place in Bardonnechia Feb. 16-17. The U.S. competitors arrive in Italy on Feb. 8.
