PIPING HOT SNOWBOARDING HAS GIVEN THE U.S. `AMPTITUDE' IN THESE GAMES.Byline: STEVE DILBECK BARDONECCHIA, Italy - Snowboarding is our sport. We rock at snowboarding. We own snowboarding. One day after the men came close to a medal sweep in the halfpipe half·pipe or half pipe n. A smooth-surfaced structure shaped like a trough and used for stunts in sports such as in-line skating and snowboarding. , the women duplicated it. If we can just figure out a couple more winter sports winter sports: see bobsledding; curling; hockey, ice; ice dancing; ice skating; skiing; snowshoes; tobogganing. the U.S. excels at, we could own these Winter Games
As it is, the U.S. Olympic Committee had to just be all beside itself Monday that the women were able to mirror the men, Hannah Teter Hannah Teter (born January 27 1987) is a female snowboarder from Belmont, Vermont, in the United States, known for her consistent and technical riding in the halfpipe. She won a gold medal in the women's halfpipe competition at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. taking the gold, Gretchen Bleiler Gretchen Bleiler (born on April 10, 1981 in Toledo, Ohio [1]) is a professional halfpipe snowboarder and pioneer. She is said to be one of the most accomplished female snowboarders in the world. the silver and Norway's Kjersti Buaas Kjersti Østgaard Buaas (born January 5, 1982) is a Norwegian snowboarder from Trondheim. She placed 4th in women's half-pipe at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. She received a bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in women's half-pipe in Turin, Italy. edging Kelly Clark Kelly Clark (born July 26, 1983) is an snowboarder born in Newport, Rhode Island. She has been snowboarding since she was 8 years old, and began competing in 1999. She became a member of the US Snowboard team in 2000, and later won a gold medal in the Winter Olympics. to prevent the U.S. sweep. It was the same 1-2-4 finish the men pulled off Sunday, when Shaun White Shaun Roger White (born September 3, 1986 in Carlsbad, California), is an American athlete. He has been a notable competitor in professional snowboarding since he was twelve years old. White stands 5' 8.5" (1.73 m) tall. led a powerful U.S. medal run. The three American women finished in the top three in the morning qualifying and led again after the first run of the final. We are the dominators of snowboarding, or at least the halfpipe. We shred teams, demoralize de·mor·al·ize tr.v. de·mor·al·ized, de·mor·al·iz·ing, de·mor·al·iz·es 1. To undermine the confidence or morale of; dishearten: an inconsistent policy that demoralized the staff. them, school them. Buaas was stunned to squeeze out Clark, the 2002 Olympic champion, to take the bronze. ``I couldn't believe it when I saw my score,'' Buaas said. ``(The Americans) are a bit ahead of us.'' Think so? Hey, the world expects to lose when the U.S. comes to town, expects to be humbled, to be outdone out·do tr.v. out·did , out·done , out·do·ing, out·does To do more or better than in performance or action. See Synonyms at excel. by advanced tricks and superior height. ``We were definitely in the other teams' heads,'' U.S. coach Bud Keene Jr. said. ``When these girls come rolling into a halfpipe competition, we roll in like a freight train. It scares the crap out of everybody. ``You see the way they ride. I mean, it's head and shoulders above the rest of the competitors.'' Clark was on her way to the podium, and possibly the gold, on her final run. She had the best ``amptitude'' of the day, was putting twists and turns together like flying gymnasts, when she fell after her last trick. ``There are some great competitors out there for sure, but if Kelly had landed on our feet in that run, there's no question we would have swept the podium,'' Keene said. ``American girls are the strongest in the world and we mean to keep it that way.'' The future is, as they say, bright. Teter is only 19, the same as White. Clark is 22, Bleiler 24 and Elena Hight hight adj. Archaic Named or called. [Middle English, past participle of highten, hihten, to call, be called, from hehte, hight, past tense of hoten , who finished sixth, is only 16. We may be struggling with the ski team, but this one-time alternate sport is all ours. The U.S. women dominated every element of the competition, from qualifying to the finals. This extreme sport started going mainstream after Salt Lake City when the men swept and Clark took the gold. ``I remember going into my hair salon A hair salon (also called 'Hairdresser' and 'Hair Parlour')is a place where one goes to get their hair cut, as well as styled, highlighted or coloured. There are many different types of hair salons that one can choose to go to. a couple weeks afterwards, and these 60-year-old hairdressers were talking about snowboarding,'' Bleiler said. ``How cool is that?'' Four of the first five medals won at these Winter Games by America were by snowboarders. Over the last two Olympics, the U.S. has won eight of 12 snowboarding medals. It's a Southern California gift to the Winter Games. Surfing begat skateboarding, which begat snowboarding. Without snowboarding thus far in the Turin Games, the U.S. is Estonia. A one-medal team. A warm-weather country struggling to be competitive in the Winter Games. ``We have such a deep field, the men and women,'' Bleiler said. ``Everyone is always pushing each other every single thing in a sport that's progressing at an amazing rate.'' Teter is now firmly entrenched en·trench also in·trench v. en·trenched, en·trench·ing, en·trench·es v.tr. 1. To provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying or defending. 2. at the forefront of her sport. The Vermont native is one of five children, and two of her brothers - Abe and Elijah - are on the U.S. men's team. ``We always competed in everything we did,'' she said. ``Holding our breath. The trampoline trampoline Resilient sheet or web (often of nylon) supported by springs in a metal frame and used as a springboard and landing area in tumbling. Trampolining is an individual sport of acrobatic movements performed after rebounding into the air from the trampoline. . It's a family thing.'' Teter is already an idol to the teens that follow snowboarding the way some youth once followed baseball. She still talks and acts like a teen- ager, but already has helped elevate her sport. She started doing the sophisticated tricks her brothers did, spinning at the kind of advanced levels only the men had previously attempted. ``Hannah very much started a revolution in women's sport,'' Keene said. ``When I first saw her, I said, 'Whoa, who is this kid?' '' They tend to inspire each other, push each other. Clark had a solid, clean first run that had her in third place in the final. But in her second run, after Buaas had slipped ahead of her, Clark was not trying to just get on the podium, but take the gold. ``Kelly would have won today if she hadn't fallen,'' Keene said. ``I was blown away by her amptitude.'' Clark had planned a more aggressive second run from the start. That's the whole team's attitude. ``You gotta go for it,'' Clark said. ``This is the biggest event in the world. Winning a medal here isn't like winning anywhere else.'' Despite being edged for a medal, Clark was still there at the end of Teter's final run to congratulate her teammates. ``Everyone is just pushing each other every day,'' Bleiler said. ``It's not a cut-throat sport at all. We all cheer each other on.'' Cheer each other on to regular victories. If we can somehow figure out how to make Frisbee a winter sport, the world is at our feet. For now, we'll take snowboarding on the pipe. It's our world, and we own it. CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Snowboarders - such as silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler, left, and gold-medal winning Hannah Teter - have carried the Americans' hopes on their backs so far in the Turin Olympic Games. Top, Teter (left) and Bleiler perform in the event Monday. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images (2 -- color) no caption (snowboarding) Joe Klamar/Getty Images (3 -- color) no caption (snowboarding) Diether Endicher/Getty Images |
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