Gold Going to Sochi

MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN, CA (Jan. 17) – Rookie Taylor Gold (Steamboat Springs, CO) punched a ticket to Sochi Friday with his third-place finish at the fourth halfpipe qualifier at the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix. Defending Olympic Champion Shaun White (Carlsbad, CA) took the victory, putting him one podium away from clinching a spot on the U.S. Olympic team for halfpipe snowboarding. Kelly Clark (West Dover, VT) took her second halfpipe victory of the day with Chloe Kim (La Palma, CA) second and Hannah Teter (Belmont, VT) third, an identical podium to the third qualifier staged earlier in the day Friday. The fifth qualifier on Sunday will be the last chance for the halfpipe riders to make their move to score a spot on the Olympic team.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Rookie Taylor Gold (Steamboat Springs, CO) punched a ticket to Sochi Friday with his third-place finish at the fourth halfpipe qualifier at the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix.
• Defending Olympic Champion Shaun White (Carlsbad, CA) took the victory, putting him one podium away from clinching a spot on the U.S. Olympic team for halfpipe snowboarding. White sat out Friday’s earlier qualifier after he took a hard fall in Thursday’s first slopestyle qualifier.
• Veteran rider Scotty Lago (Seabrook, NH) landed second, which also puts him in a valuable position going into the final qualifier.
• After Friday’s qualifier only Lago, White, Gret Bretz (Mammoth Lakes, CA) and Danny Davis (Truckee, CA) can mathematically secure a top-three spot in the qualification standings.
• Kelly Clark (West Dover, VT) took her second halfpipe victory of the day for the women with Chloe Kim (La Palma, CA) second and Hannah Teter (Belmont, VT) third. It was an identical podium to the third qualifier staged earlier in the day Friday.
• Clark clinched her Olympic team spot at the Copper Grand Prix in December, while 13-year-old Kim is not Olympic eligible.
• All other U.S. women are currently capable of mathematically securing a top-three spot in the qualification standings.
• The fifth qualifier on Sunday will be the last chance for the halfpipe riders to make their move to score a spot on the Olympic team. NBC will broadcast coverage of the qualifier at 3:00 p.m. EST Sunday and a stream will be available at nbcsports.com/liveextra.

QUOTES
Shaun White
It feels good. I woke up this morning and I couldn’t really move that well, so I decided to skip the first event. I’m really happy I did, because I can actually ride today. I want to lock it up on Sunday and hopefully try to win another. I’m just happy I can push through that crash yesterday. I lucked out that I have a physician here that really helped me out this morning, and Bud and everyone decided it was best to just skip the event.

Scotty Lago
Today was like the gnarliest day ever with two contests. But I’m pumped. Really, I needed it to have a shot. Well, I’m really not that pumped, because I still have to get a second on Sunday and with Shaun competing that’s like getting first. I really like the pipe and I think I can do it, so we’ll see.

Kelly Clark
This is a first, even for me, two contests in one day. The pipe was amazing. I thought the women rode amazing today, and I was happy to come out on top. I think for me it’s all practice, so it was great for me to come out and put down some technical runs. I want to be able to put down the most difficult runs that I can, so that by the time I get to Sochi perhaps they’re not as difficult for me anymore. So it was even really good practice falling on my first run and coming back and being able to put it down.

RESULTS
Official Men’s Results
Official Women’s Results

STANDINGS
Men’s Halfpipe Standings
Women’s Halfpipe Standings

LINKS

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