BAHRKE TAKES FIRST BITE HER SILVER IN MOGULS BEGINS U.S. MARCH.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

SALT LAKE CITY - It was the sport in which the U.S. figured to earn its first medal, not just the skier who figured. Of course, it's a sport few of us have figured.

Shannon Bahrke didn't seem too interested in expectations. Truth is, she didn't have all that many herself.

``I had no expectations to get on the podium,'' Bahrke said.

Bahrke is a Lake Tahoe moguls skier, that X Games sport that has become an Olympic Winter Games entry and NBC effort to attract those whose idea of sport is a Mountain Dew commercial.

In this world, Norway's Kari Traa is the queen. She acted it, and looked it, Saturday in capturing the gold.

But next to her on the podium was Bahrke, who wouldn't - and no doubt, couldn't - maintain her excitement. Bahrke was the bubbly All-American girl. All energy, all the time.

Her fingernails were painted red, white and blue. For eye shadow was waves of the same. She had glitter sprinkled all around her eyes. She wore a ski hat that was red, white and blue. And not for a moment did she bother to conceal her absolute joy, at not just capturing the silver, but in becoming the first American to capture a medal in the Salt Lake City Olympic Games.

``Are you kidding?'' she said. ``That's huge! It's a huge honor to win the first in the U.S. I'm really excited.''

Bahrke, 21, was so excited she almost was unable to end a sentence Saturday without using the word ``excited.''

``This is the coolest thing in the world,'' she said. ``This is amazing. I'm just really excited.''

To her excited side in the interview area sat Traa - glamorous in that classic Norwegian way. Traa is blonde, blue-eyed, big white smile. She almost flashes her eyes at you, radiating sex appeal, beaming with confidence.

Of course, if you've won five of the past six World Cup events, you tend to be confident. Traa has been on top since she figured a constant diet of chocolate might not be the best thing for airborne twists, stretches and spins.

Or as any of us moguls fanatics could tell, the extra poundage gets in the way of the backscratcher, helicopter, iron cross and the daffy. Lord, I love the daffy.

So at her '99 Christmas, Traa made a pledge to stop eating chocolate and butter. She lost 20 pounds. Pretty soon she was on top of the moguls world. Also in a Norwegian magazine posing for a picture we can't adequately describe in your basic family newspaper.

She led after the qualification round, which meant Queen Traa went last in the finals. Just the way she likes it.

``I normally ski well under pressure,'' Traa said. ``I like that feeling of being on top, when people expect big things from me.''

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the 857-foot, 28-degree run waited Bahrke. If you're Bahrke, maybe you're thinking, ``Fall!''

There are two jumps in moguls, where they perform two aerial tricks of their choice. Scores are judged 25 percent on their time down the hill, 25 percent on form and difficulty, and 50 percent on the quality of turns. I know this because I read it in a book.

As they race down the hill, knees bobbing up and down like pistons over the moguls - snow bumps to you lodge types - rock music blasts over loudspeakers and some overly excited emcee describes the run as though he's hoping an MTV talent scout is in the crowd.

There is plenty of opportunity for disaster to strike, but Bahrke said she wasn't silently hoping for anything evil to befall Traa.

``She's an amazing skier,'' Bahrke said. ``I wanted her to put on a show. She is the best in the world and she's proven it time and time and time and time again. I just wanted her to ski well. I didn't want her to fall or anything.''

Traa flew higher, turned quicker, and made it down the hill faster. I'm telling you, in all my years of covering moguls, it was the best run I've ever seen.

The U.S. skier who was supposed to challenge Traa was Hannah Hardaway, who entered the Winter Games ranked second in the world. And after the qualifying run, Hardaway was second. But in the final run, Hardaway struggled on both her jumps and ended up fifth.

``When I first came down, I figured I might as well try and sell my run to the judges,'' Hardaway said. ``I wish it could have sold it sincerely.

``Obviously it's a disappointment. All I wanted to do was come out and ski my best, and I didn't. So I'll have to come back.''

Meanwhile, she plans to marry fellow Olympian Brian Currutt, a U.S. freestyler.

Bahrke, previously the only person to defeat Traa in the past six World Cups, led the way. Just before she started her final run, she flashed a smile.

``I'm not known to smile, so that was really odd,'' she said. ``I just felt it was my time.''

Turns out, she did have it figured.

e-mail from Salt Lake City

Subject: Dilbeck from the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake city

Date: Feb. 10, 2002

From: Steve Dilbeck

To: The Daily News Readers

Somewhere there's a good line about these Olympic Games, but so far nobody's seen it.

As you read this, I am no doubt somewhere in a line. Lines are the king of these Olympics. Long lines, slow lines, lines that lead to other lines.

I don't know who's making all these metal detectors, but we should have unloaded the family savings in its stocks months ago. In the wake of Sept. 11, everyone has been understanding, but I'm betting it won't last the two weeks.

Spectators and media are frequently arriving late to events because they didn't completely allow for the 1 1/2-hour wait to go through individual metal detectors. Stand in line in 20-degree weather that long, and you start thinking the Russians are going to have a definite edge here.

As the loudspeaker outside the skiing venue blares, ``Please be patient as ...'' A Brit, with twin girls about 3, mumbles loud enough for anyone to hear: ``Patient. They should rename these the Patient Games.''

Everybody's got a line in Salt Lake City.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

(color) Shannon Bahrke became the first American to medal at the Salt Lake Games, taking a surprising silver in the moguls.

Douglas C. Pizac/Associated Press

Box:

e-mail from Salt Lake City (see text)