The Olympic Battle Continues

Christina Johnson

With three of five Olympic qualifying events complete, the Olympic snowboarding team is starting to take shape.  Kelly Clark solidified her third return to the Olympics last week at the Sprint Grand Prix in Mammath, California.
Clark’s winning run consisted of a frontside air, backside 5, frontside 9, backside air, frontside 7, and a cab 7 showing that consistency is key. Kelly Clark was followed in second by Hanah Teter and third by Gretchen Blieler.
The third stop of qualifiers landed Gretchen Blieler in first, which brings her one step closer to that coveted spot on the Olympic team.  Blieler’s top run of a frontside 9, backside 5, crippler 720, cab 7, and straight air was enough to beat out Kelly Clark, who finished in fourth.  Not far behind in Olympic contention is elite rider Elena Hight who finished second behind Blier at Saturday’s event.
Don’t exclude the men from the competition excitement. Shaun White clinched his Olympic spot on Wednesday following two 1st place finishes at the first and third Grand Prix events. Even more momentous than that was the beyond perfect run by Danny Davis, landing him in first at Wednesday’s event. His run is something worth striving for and consisted of the epic double cork cab 10, front 9, straight air, double cork front 10, and switch double back rodeo.
Being the first snowboarder in history to land that run in halfpipe is more than enough to show the world what the US is bringing to the table. The fourth and fifth qualifying event are set to take place at Park City Mountain Resort on January 22 and 23rd.

Posted by Christina Johnson on 01/15