Snowboarding

Americans Take Three Grand Prix Halfpipe Podiums

by
USSA
2015-03-01 17:02
 

PARK CITY, UT (March 1, 2015)—Even with fresh snow on Park City Mountain Resort’s halfpipe, the Americans were able to pull off a successful day in front of the home crowd at the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix snowboard halfpipe comp. Kelly Clark (West Dover, VT) took the win—her second FIS World Cup victory of the season—while Arielle Gold (Steamboat Springs, CO) was on the podium in second place. Taylor Gold (Steamboat Springs, CO) grabbed second in the men’s pipe.

The crowd lined the sides of Park City’s steep halfpipe for the men and women’s snowboard finals on Sunday afternoon, cheering on the eight Americans competing in the double-sanctioned FIS World Cup and Platinum-ranked event on the TTR World Tour. Clark took a big crash in practice earlier in the day, but put it aside and threw down an unbeatable first run. “I took a pretty hard slam in practice and got pretty rattled,” said Clark. “So to come back and land my first run after that is a pretty huge achievement.”


Kelly Clark competes in the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix in Park City. (Getty Images-Tom Pennington)

31-year-old Clark has had a strong history in Park City, where she won a gold medal in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. “I heard them announcing that 13 years ago was the Salt Lake Olympics. I have great memories of this place and it has a lot of big moments in my career,” said Clark, who also took the overall U.S. Grand Prix title with this win. “I’m kind of in awe when I step back and look at it that I’m still able to do well in this sport and love this sport.”

18-year-old Arielle Gold grabbed second, with a score of 88.75 behind Clark’s 94.50. She was stoked on her first run, and like Clark, nailed the podium with that attempt. “I’m just happy I put down a run that I’m comfortable with and was able to land a good run right from the start,” said Gold. Xuetong Cai of China rounded out the women’s podium in third place.


Arielle Gold grabs second place in the Grand Prix. (Getty Images-Tom Pennington)

Arielle Gold’s brother, Taylor Gold, also scored a podium in the Sprint snowboarding halfpipe, second to Yiwei Zhang of China. “It’s awesome to get second here,” relayed Gold. “Yiwei totally deserved it. He did one of the biggest runs I’ve ever seen. At the top, I was like I’m going to do everything I can do. I wasn’t holding anything back.” Kent Callister of Australia was third.

But it was Zhang's day. He had a nearly perfect run—scoring a 98 on his final attempt with a massive double cork 1260. He landed the trick in X Games, taking fourth, but this is the first time the trick led to Zhang's first major win. Because of Zhang's result, Gold and Zhang tied for the overall Sprint U.S. Grand Prix tour title. Although Gold didn’t nail the cab 12 he had been attempting, he is ready for it at the Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships, which athletes head to on Monday. Zhang finished second to Gold's first in the 2014 U.S. Open.


Taylor Gold rides to second place. (Getty Images-Tom Pennington)

Park City will be the host of the 2019 FIS World Championships for freeskiing and snowboarding, and all of the athletes praised the organization and execution of events at Park City Mountain Resort. “I think Park City does an awesome job whenever contests come here,” said Arielle Gold. “The pipe is one of the best halfpipes I’ve ever ridden and even with the new snow, they were able to slip it out and keep the pipe super fast and cater to a great event.”

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Arielle Gold was second to Kelly Clark in both the U.S. Grand Prix at Park City and at Copper Mountain.
  • The women’s podium—Clark, Kelly and Cai—all earned the podiums on the first run.
  • Taylor Gold and Yiwei Zhang tied for the overall U.S. Grand Prix tour title. This was Zhang’s first major win.
  • In the men’s finals, Matt Ladley (Chicago, IL) just missed the podium in fourth, Gabe Ferguson (Bend, OR) was sixth, Greg Bretz (Mammoth Lakes, CA) seventh, Brett Esser (Breckenridge, CO) eighth and Jake Pates (Eagle, CO) 10th.
  • Yiwei Zhang's winning run: backside air, front double cork 1080, cab double cork 1080, front double 1260, backside 900.
  • Taylor Gold’s run: method, frontside 1260 tail, double Michaelchuck nose grab, Japan air-to-fakie, cab 1080 roast beef, frontside double cork 1080 chicken salad
  • Kelly Clark’s winning run: frontside air, backside 540, front 1080, cab 720, frontside inverted 540, backside air
  • Arielle Gold’s run: frontside 900, backside 540, frontside 720, cab 720, crippler


Taylor Gold stands on the podium in second with Yiwei Zhang (first) and Kent Callister (third).

QUOTES
Taylor Gold
In practice, I was kind of loose. I was happy to put down that first finals run. I was really stoked that I got the nose on the double chuck that run. And then the last two runs, I’ve been trying to do a cab 12 down here. Both times I thought I was going to land it, but I guess I’m going to save it for the [U.S.] Open.

It’s awesome to get second here. Yiwei totally deserved it. He did one of the biggest runs I’ve ever seen. At the top, I was like I’m going to do everything I can do. I wasn’t holding anything back.

Kelly Clark
Today was a really big day for me. I took a pretty hard slam in practice and got pretty rattled. So to come back and land my first run after that is a pretty huge achievement. Not only to put a run down, but to be happy with it was what I wanted.

This week for me is a nice tune up for the U.S. Open next week and I was able to try a new run I’ve never done in a competition before. Second run it didn’t quite come together and third run I got to go for the cab 9, which was the run I really wanted with the inverted 5 first hit, which I’ve never done. For me, it was a stepping stone. Not only was I proud of overcoming a slam in practice, but to come back and put a good run down for the competition and then build on my snowboarding, it couldn’t have gone better.

I heard them announcing that 13 years ago was the Salt Lake Olympics. I have great memories of this place and it has a lot of big moments in my career—from being named to the 2010 team, to the Olympics in 02. I’m kind of in awe when I step back and look at it that I’m still able to do well in this sport and love this sport.

Arielle Gold
It went really well. I was happy with the way I was riding and the way the rest of the girls were riding. So I think overall, it was a really good contest.

I was trying to go a little bit bigger on my second and third runs and also put a cab 9 in there, but it just didn’t end up working out. I think I definitely need to work on going that big a little bit more, just so I’m a little more comfortable with it. But I’m just happy I put down a run that I’m comfortable with and was able to land a good run right from the start.

I’m excited to head over to the U.S. Open and hopefully put down that run with two 9s. I’m excited to have some spring riding time and have some time to relax and just enjoy snowboarding.

I think Park City does an awesome job whenever contests come here. The pipe is one of the best halfpipes I’ve ever ridden and even with the new snow, they were able to slip it out and keep the pipe super fast and cater to a great event.

RESULTS
Men's official results
Women's official results

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