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Silver for Bright in epic Halfpipe final

13/2/2014

Silver medalist Torah Bright of Australia celebrates during the flower ceremony for the Snowboard Women's Halfpipe Finals on day five of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on February 12, 2014 in Sochi, Russia.© Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Torah Bright has produced a sensational final run in the women’s Halfpipe final to clinch silver – Australia’s first medal at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. “It was perhaps one of the hardest events I’ve ridden in, in a long time. It was just really challenging,” Bright said.

“I’m just so happy the night’s over really and that I was able to put down a run.”

The Vancouver 2010 champion was just 0.25 points behind American Kaitlyn Farrington who scored 91.75 with her second run. The bronze went to Torino 2002 champion and pre-event favourite Kelly Clark (USA) who nailed the last run of the competition (90.75) after falling heavily on her first run.

The standard was phenomenal and the tension was high at Extreme Park. American Hannah Teter was fourth with 90.50 after leading the 12-woman final from her 1st run.

Bright, 27, increased her degree of difficulty from qualification and held nothing back. On Run 1 she fell, missing her landing on a frontside 540 but she headed back up the hill and did the job second time round.

“After the first run I was like ‘really? I did this again to my family and my friends watching, I put them through the wringer again, why?’” Bright said, referring to her similar ride at the Olympics four years ago.

The incredible performance follows Bright’s seventh in the Slopestyle final three days ago. In four days she will race the Snowboard Cross, showing she is the most versatile and talented snowboarder at the Games.

“I don’t care about the colour of the medal. Life isn’t about winning it’s about putting your best foot forward and sharing your light.”

Born in Cooma, NSW, Bright is coached by her brother Ben, who has also been and emotional help for her, since her divorce from fellow snowboarder Jake Welch.

“I’ve got to give a shout out to Benny, especially this past year, he’s been an incredible support to me. He has given so much to me. I love him, he’s my brother, but he’s a dear friend.”

She went on to dedicate the silver medal to her biggest fans.

“It’s for my family, it’s for my brother, it’s for everybody who takes joy from what I do.”

Bright’s medal follows her gold at Vancouver 2010 and it now takes Australia’s total Olympic Winter tally to 10.

Before tonight in Sochi, Australian athletes had achieved five top-10 performances and are now on the medal tally for the sixth consecutive Winter Games.

Other Aussies that featured in the Snowboard Halfpipe event included Stephanie Magiros who finished 18th after making the semi-final, Hannah Trigger (20th) and Holly Crawford (26th).

Andrew Reid / Emily Groves | sochi2014.olympics.com.au

Happy Henshaw in one piece after Ski Slopestyle final

13/2/2014

Russell Henshaw reacts after competing in the Freestyle Skiing Men's Ski Slopestyle © Al Bello/Getty Images

Russ Henshaw staked his place in amongst the world’s best free skiers by finishing 8th in the men’s Ski Slopestyle. Going into the final, the chilled out athlete knew he had to pull off a triple cork to be in medal contention. He went for it on his very last jump, but ran out of room on the landing.

“That was actually the first one I’ve tried since I’ve been here, so I’m glad I gave it a crack, got close,” the 23-year-old said.

“I did the build up to the triple [in training] but didn’t do it just because I wanted to make it to the big show. I’d rather go down like I did then, than go down in training and not compete at all.”

Henshaw had hoped to include a triple cork in his first run, but was forced to change plans when he fell off the top rail and drifted offline on the second last jump. Despite the mix up, the run was clean, giving him a score of 80.40.

The boy from Jindabyne said he was actually happy to get down in one piece, having being plagued by fresh injuries in the past few weeks.

In a bid to be at his best for his Olympic debut, Henshaw’s been off the alcohol for the past 14 months, but says tonight he’ll allow himself to have a beer.

Team USA made a clean sweep of the podium, with all three medallists executing triples along the way. Gold medallist Joss Christensen put down two technically solid runs (95.80), Silver medallist Gus Kenworthy came back from a failed first run to nail his second (93.60), and pre-Games favourite Nick Goepper had to settle for Bronze (92.40) in a tough field.

Emily Groves | sochi2014.olympics.com.au

No luck for Aussie men in Snowboard Cross

12/2/2014

Kent Callister smiles after his Snowboard Men's Halfpipe Semifinal © Al Bello/Getty Images

Teen sensation Kent Callister had the best day of his life, competing in the men’s Halfpipe final at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on Tuesday night local time. “It was just unreal. That’s the best contest I’ve ever been in,” he said.

The 18-year-old came 9th in a star-studded field of 12 that included defending Olympic Champion Shaun White.

“I just had so much fun out there riding with everyone. It was a really good experience.”

Callister’s first run didn’t quite go to plan when he fell on the landing of his fourth trick, scoring a lowly 40.00 points. Sitting in 10th, he had to pull out all stops on his second run if he was going be in with a chance at the podium – and he did, scoring 68.50.

Unfortunately for him seven of the eight riders to drop into the pipe after him also lifted, doing better in their second runs than their first.

The final result was a major upset, with Russian-born Swiss rider Iouri Podladtchikov scoring an unbeatable 94.75 to win Gold, ahead of Japanese teammates Ayumu Hirano with Silver (93.50) and Taku Hiraoka with Bronze (92.25).

A crash landing on the lip of the pipe in his first run and a wobbly 90.25 to recover in his second, wasn’t enough for Shaun White to claim his third consecutive Olympic Winter Games Gold medal.

"I was looking for four - I was hoping to do Slopestyle too, but it didn't pan out," said White.

"Tonight was just not my time."

18-year-old Callister took the long way to the medal round, via the semi-final. After failing to land the last trick in his first run, the Olympic debutant relied on a stylish second run to get the 79.50 points needed to be in the group of six to progress.

A gutsy semi-final performance by teammate Nathan Johnstone wasn’t quite enough to get him through, missing out on a spot in the final by just one place.

Earlier in the day, Australia’s best chance at a men’s Halfpipe medal, Scotty James, made a shock exit from the competition, when he didn’t make it through the heats.

Tough judging in his first run and an unfinished program in the second brought the 19-year-old’s time at the Sochi Games to a premature end.

James was the first rider of the session to drop into the pipe, scoring 68.50, in what was seemed like a tidy and skilled performance.

“I thought it would have made the nine. But I hate blaming it on the judges. At the end of the day, it’s me, that didn’t make it. I didn’t do enough to make it through,” James said.

On the next run he lost speed on the landing after his second air, slowing his approach to the next trick, which he was unable to complete. Missing out on the semi-final by one place brought his second Olympics to a grinding halt.

“It’s just a bit disappointing because a lot of work’s gone into it over the time. That’s the first time that’s happened to me in a while, not to even make it through to the semis, let alone the final. So I don’t know how to feel right now. I’m not happy, I’m not angry, I’m not sad, I’m kind of just very blunt, I’m just a bit shocked.”

A clearly devastated James admitted he’d been unwell all week; feeling sick in the stomach and experiencing back aches.

“My first run was first time I’d done some tricks in a while.”

James leaves Sochi, having come 16th in the Snowboard Slopestyle and 21st in the Halfpipe. The same Halfpipe result as he recorded four years ago at the Vancouver Olympics.

As for his teammate Callister, whose family was watching the event on television at home in the USA: “I’d just like to soak it all up and remember it for the rest of my life.”

And the plan for his very bright future: “To hopefully a lot of new tricks and some podium finishes.”

Emily Groves | sochi2014.olympics.com.au

Segal comes so close, with no regrets

11/2/2014

Anna Segal of Australia waits for her score in the Freestyle Skiing Women's Ski Slopestyle © Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Australia’s Anna Segal has gone agonisingly close to an historic Slopestyle medal at the Sochi Games by finishing fourth at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on Tuesday. Segal’s effort is the closest any Australian athlete has come to winning a medal at these Games.

The 27-year-old was in the bronze medal position after her first run and stayed there right until the end of the competition, only to be bumped off the podium by the last skier that could, Canadian Kim Lamarre.

“I kind of knew. I know her skiing and I know what the judges reward and I saw her stomp everything and I thought ‘yep, she’s got it’,” Segal said.

Lamarre moved into the bronze medal position with 85.00 points to surpass Segal’s 77.0 from her first run.

Melbourne-based Segal crashed on the final jump of her final run, which until that point had been cleaner and bigger than her earlier three runs of the day. Segal scored just 28.80 for that run.

“I came up to the jump and thought ‘I’m going to go for it’, went for it, didn’t have enough speed, landed, but I’m really glad that I tried it,” she said.

Canadian 18-year-old Dara Howell won gold with her sensational first run which earned 94.20 from the judges to be the event’s first Olympic champion. She was also the top competitor in qualifying.

American Devin Logan who was ranked fifth coming in to the final won the silver with 85.40 points from her first run.

With the pressure of the Olympic final there were some big crashes on the course. The experience and mental toughness of the 27-year-old Australian shone through.

“The last year has been the rollercoaster ride of my life,” a relieved Segal said.

The 2011 World Champion, shrugged off a cold and a preparation severely hampered by a knee injury to put herself right in the medal mix.

She even admitted she wouldn’t have skied in this competition if it wasn’t the Olympics and that she probably would have gone home for surgery.

“This road has been so long. I’ve seen so many of my friends from other countries go down, blow ACLs [anterior cruciate ligaments], not get selected on teams and the fact that I’m here, still skiing, I’ve got no regrets really.”

Earlier, in qualification, World Champion Kaya Turski (CAN) failed to progress to the final after two spectacular crashes and World Cup winner Keri Herman (USA) didn’t have her best day when it mattered, finishing 10th.

Andrew Reid | sochi2014.olympics.com.au

Bright 7th in Slopestyle

9/2/2014

Australian Snowboard Champion Torah Bright finished seventh in Slopestyle at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games on Sunday. Not able to land her Cab 9 trick cleanly in both runs, ruined the 27-year-old’s hopes of a podium finish in a super-hot field.

“I was really quite pumped to come out and have another little trick in the bag,” she said of her new move, that she couldn't quite pull off.

“That last one, I was like ‘yeah, I got it’, but then I... that just happens sometimes."

The winner was four-time X Games champion Jamie Anderson (USA) with a huge score of 95.25 from her second run. Enni Rukajarvi of Finland moved from fourth to second (92.50) with her last attempt and Great Britain won its first medal on snow at any Winter Olympics with Jenny Jones’s run of 87.25.

Bright’s rail displays were clean and impressive but when she touched her hands down on her first big jumps in both runs she lost valuable points and speed for her remaining two big tricks.

Bright was sitting sixth after a first run score of 64.75. In qualification on Thursday she cruised to a score of 85.25 but couldn’t reproduce on Sunday.

As always though the Australian was all smiles and congratulated her competitors, including Anderson, at the bottom of the course.

“She’s one of the best riders in the world and I want to see the best do their best and win.

“I think that was a wonderful representation of female snowboarding today and I’m proud to be a part of it,” she said, but lamented the fact that Slopestyle is a judged sport.

“It’s just really sad that Sina Candrian (SUI) wasn’t on the podium. She made history today by doing a women’s frontside 1080 – first time ever in contest."

All 12 girls didn’t hold back. Sarka Pancochova of the Czech Republic, who was leading after Run 1 had a heavy fall, cracking her helmet, but was thankfully able to ride to the bottom of the course. Making the pain for her fall even greater would be being passed by four girls in Run 2 to place fifth.

Canadian World Champion Spencer O’Brien had a day to forget, unable to execute two clean runs she finished at the tail of the final in 12th.

There is no rest for the wicked, Bright now turns to the Halfpipe with a training session later today. Bright is aiming to defend her Halfpipe crown on Wednesday.

Andrew Reid | sochi2014.olympics.com.au

Scotty James lands triple but misses Slopestyle final

8/2/2014

Scotty James missed out on a place in the final of the Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on Saturday. The 19-year-old came eighth in the semi-final (16th overall), with only the top four riders joining the other eight who gained entry to the final in the qualification round on Thursday.

Despite the result, James was happy with his performance, which was watched by his female Halfpipe teammates including Torah Bright and Holly Crawford.

“I just wanted to put down a good run. I wanted to do the triple [cork] and I did, so I’m stoked,” he said.

James scored 77.25 in his first run and was briefly ranked as high as second, before resting in sixth at the end of the first run.

James needed to improve in his second run if he was going to be in with a chance, but had a less than perfect start on the rails, ultimately scoring a disappointing 19.00.

“I went too far on the first feature and lost speed on the second and third feature,” he said.

“After I crashed on the third feature I said to myself it’s not meant to be. So, on the last jump I decided to do a backflip to give something to the crowd.”

The Melbourne-born snowboarder crashed during qualification on Thursday and sustained chest and rib bruising. He’ll have a short recovery before competing in his pet event on Tuesday. James was the overall Halfpipe World Cup winner this season.

“Now I’m just going to go out to the Halfpipe and really enjoy it.”

The first Gold medal of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games went to Sage Kotsenburg of the USA, who pulled out a near-flawless first run, scoring 93.50. After a touchdown on his first attempt Norwegian rider Staale Sandbech came back strongly on his second to take Silver (91.75) with Bronze going to Canadian Mark McMorris (88.75) in the event's Olympic debut.

Emily Groves | sochi2014.olympics.com.au