The action returned to the now controversial halfpipe of Sochi for the women’s Olympic event. The pipe had received a fair bit of attention overnight and was looking in better shape than it did for the men’s event.
This didn’t last long, though, as the temperature soon nudged 10 degrees and the pipe began to crumble.
Riders in the first qualifying heat certainly had a big advantage over those who dropped in the second qualifier, with speed being a major issue.
Interestingly enough Australia and America were the only two countries with a full team of four girls competing in the halfpipe. Both of these countries would eventually occupy every position on the podium.
The gap between the elite women and the majority of the field was evident from the opening riders who dropped in the first qualifying heat.
Holly Crawford, who was competing with a broken wrist, couldn’t back up her finals finish from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and was the first Australian to bow out.
Holly crashed twice in the first heat, unable to land her run, which looked certain to have secured her a semi-final position had she completed it.
Newcomer Hannah Trigger managed to stick her run but lacked the technical ability to score high enough, finishing the heat in 10th position.
Steph Magiros, another Olympic debutant succeeded through to the semi-finals, but like Hannah really lacked the tricks and amplitude to threaten the top end of the field.
Torah came out of the gates, all guns firing. No wasting time with straight airs, every hit was a rotation and every trick was executed perfectly with style and grace. Torah easily ticks all of the boxes and is far and above the most stylish rider in the pipe.
The battle for gold looked like it was going to come down to the two most experienced and dominant competitors in the field: Australia’s Torah Bright against the USA’s Kelly Clark.
Both girls were competing in an event they have previously won at an Olympic level, both have been crowned TTR (Ticket To Ride) world champions and both have won gold at the X Games as well. Both Torah and Kelly finished first in their respective qualifying heats.
Come the final and suddenly everything changed. After the first run American rider and former gold medalist Hannah Teter shot to the lead over Kelly and Torah.
Then in the second round the unthinkable happened. Event dark horse, Kaitlyn Farrington from the USA, dropped in on her second run and suddenly found herself in first place.
Her run began with an air to fakie then going straight into a switch backside 720 – one of the most technical tricks of the event. She then went into backside 900, alley oop 540, backside 540 and inverted frontside 720.
Ironically Torah’s brother, Ben, has coached Farrington for the past couple of years. Though he wasn’t representing her at the Olympics, there is no doubt her riding might not have reached the level it is at without his help.
Would Torah be regretting this fact? No, not for a second. She would be proud.
Kaitlyn had a nail-biting wait as the six remaining riders in the field, including Kelly and Torah, now knew they had to up the ante.
Torah’s second run was again the most stylish: a massive McTwist, air to fakie, cab 7, frontside 540, frontside alley-oop 540 and backside rodeo 720.
It was big and clean, maybe not quite as technical as Kaitlyn’s, but it was perfect.
The judges took an eternity deliberating over the score of 91.50 and Torah ended up short of Kaitlyn’s run by just 0.25 points, taking out the silver medal.
Had Torah set herself up for a fall with her vocal criticism of the halfpipe? Voicing an opinion is always a fine line to walk as an athlete in a judged sport.
Seven judges score the Olympic halfpipe event with one overall score based on the following criteria: execution of tricks, variety of tricks, difficulty, pipe use, and amplitude.
Torah had gone bigger on her run and had landed her tricks cleaner too. Kaitlyn had more technical spins with a backside 900 and a switch backside 720, commonly viewed as the hardest spin to execute.
Both girls took a big risk on their first trick, Torah with a McTwist and Kaitlyn with an air to fakie. Torah’s run looked cleaner and more stylish.
Both girls had the same amount of tricks in their run. It was a close decision that really would have gone either way on any other day.
It was just 0.25 of a point separating the two girls, had one of the judges scored Torah a little higher for her amplitude and Kaitlyn a little lower, things would be different.
At the end of it all Australia has finally nabbed its first Winter Olympic medal at Sochi and the girls have put on one hell of a show.
Backflips are an everyday snowboard trick, and as of this morning they will no doubt be a common media trait as well as they all run to side with the redeemed medallist Torah Bright.
Women’s Halfpipe Finals Results
| 1 | Kaitlyn Farrington | 91.75 |
| 2 | Torah Bright | 91.50 |
| 3 | Kelly Clark | 90.75 |
| 4 | Hannah Teter | 90.50 |
| 5 | Rana Okada | 85.50 |
| 6 | Cai Xuetong | 84.25 |
| 7 | Sophie Rodriguez | 79.50 |
| 8 | Li Shuang | 73.25 |
| 9 | Liu Jiayu | 68.25 |
| 10 | Mirabelle Thovex | 67.00 |
| 11 | Queralt Castellet | 61.75 |
| 12 | Ursina Haller | 48.75 |
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