Hannah Teter and Gretchen Bleiler go 1-2
February 13th, 2006
By USSA
BARDONECCHIA, Italy (Feb. 13) - U.S. Snowboarding continued to rack up Olympic medals Monday as Hannah Teter (Belmont, VT) won gold and Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen, CO) took silver in Women's Halfpipe. Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, VT) was just off the podium in fourth and Elena Hight (Zephyr Cove, NV) was sixth.
Following Teter and Bleiler was Norwegian Kjersti Buaas, who took bronze.
"I was standing up there and Gretchen went and just threw down so hard and I thought she had me, said Teter. "I was like, 'I'd better step it up'. (In my last run) I just wanted to step it up and do my thing and just go as big as possible and totally represent."
"It was an absolutely unbelievable day today," said Bleiler, who just missed qualifying for the '02 Games. "The Olympics and medaling at the Olympics has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl. I worked so hard to get where I am today and it hasn't been easy, not one day of it. So many ups, so many downs. It's just an unbelievable feeling getting through all of that and accomplishing a dream and a goal."
"Everyone rode really hard and put it all on the line and we're all stoked for eachother," said Hight. "That's what's so awesome about snowboarding. It's such a tight sport and we travel so
much that the people you travel with become your closest friends and your family. It's really cool to see eachother do well"
Hight, just 16 years old, podiumed at all five Grand Prix events to make the Olympic roster.
"Dropping in, I was more nervous than I've ever been at a contest before," said Hight. "Once you're snowboarding, it's what we do every day, so it (the nervousness) kind of goes away."
Since halfpipe debuted as a medal sport at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, U.S. women have won four of nine possible medals in the event as Shannon Dunn won bronze in '98.
Yesterday, the U.S. men dominated the pipe as Shaun White (Carlsbad, CA) took gold and Danny Kass (Hamburg, NJ) won his second consecutive Olympic silver. In '02, Ross Powers, Kass and JJ Thomas swept the medals in Utah, while Powers won bronze in '98.
Overall, U.S. riders have won 10 of a possible 18 Olympic medals in halfpipe.
XX OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
Bardonecchia, ITA - Feb. 13
Women's Halfpipe
1. Hannah Teter, Belmont, Vt.
2. Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, Colo.
3. Kjersti Buaas, Norway
4. Kelly Clark, Mt. Snow, Vt.
5. Torah Jane Bright, Australia
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6. Elena Hight, Zephyr Cove, Nev.
