US' Tyler Jewell loses in 1/8 finals
February 22nd, 2006
BARDONECCHIA, Italy (Feb. 22) - U.S. snowboarder Tyler Jewell (Sudbury, MA) was knocked out of the Olympic parallel giant slalom by Slovenian Dejan Kosir in Wednesday's 1/8 finals in Bardonecchia. Jewell finished 11th overall.
The final was all about Switzerland as Philipp Schoch, the '02 gold medalist, defeated Simon Schoch to defend his title. Austrian Siegfried Grabner won the bronze over France's Matthieu Bozzetto.
Jewell was just barely edged out by Kosir. A first-time Olympian, Jewell won the first of two head-to-head races by .29 seconds over Kosir. After switching courses, Jewell came out of his gate .29 seconds ahead of Kosir, but crossed the finish line .30 seconds after him, allowing Kosir to advance to the quarterfinals by just .01 seconds.
Simon Schoch, who led the qualifying round, defeated Kosir in the quarters.
In the two morning qualifying runs, Jewell posted a combined time of 1:11.13 to place ninth among the 30-rider field. The top 16 finishers in the qualifiers advanced to the finals.
XX OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
Bardonecchia, ITA - Feb. 22, 2006
Parallel Giant Slalom
1. Philipp Schoch, Switzerland
2. Simon Schoch, Switzerland
3. Siegfried Grabner, Austria
4. Matthieu Bozzetto, France
5. Heinz Inniger, Switzerland
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11. Tyler Jewell, Sudbury, Mass.
