Winter sports Olympic gold for snowboarder Torah Bright
22 Feb 2010
Snowboarder Torah Bright has won Australia’s first gold medal at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games with a stunning performance in the women’s half pipe event today at Cypress Mountain.
Bright crashed in her first run of the final but made a spectacular comeback in her second for a final score of 45 points. The 23-year-old New South Wales Institute of Sport athlete beat defending US champion Hannah Teter (42.4 points) and fellow American Kelly Clarke (42.2 points).
It has been a remarkable journey for Bright from fifth place at the 2006 Winter Games to her first Olympic gold today. Her wins at the World Superpipe Championship (2007, 2008 and 2009) and Winter X Games (2007 and 2009) made her a strong favourite for the 2010 Games, although she has had several major setbacks recently including a shoulder reconstruction in 2009.
Australian Institute of Sport/Olympic Winter Institute of Sport athlete Holly Crawford also performed strongly in the women’s snowboard half pipe, finishing eighth in the final.
