Kelly Clark

Only one person had a shot to beat snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler at the Winter X Games. It just happened to be Kelly Clark, an Olympic champion in 2002, and winner of all but one of the qualifiers for Vancouver. With Bleiler waiting and watching in the finish area, Clark dropped in for her third and final run and threw down a stellar performance, including a huge frontside 900. Then the hard part began. . . . waiting for the judges. Bleiler, the hometown Aspen hero, won the women's superpipe final by 0.66, edging Clark on Saturday night at Buttermilk Mountain.

Torah Bright's Olympic Games preparation was not exactly ideal: two crashes, two concussions and a trip to the hospital in the span of a few days in January. The snowboarder was off the hill and her main competitors were throwing down dazzling runs in the pipe at the high-profile X Games in Aspen, Colo. What about those dreams of Olympic gold for the Aussie native? Most certainly . . . not so bright. "It wasn't the easiest month, I'll say that," Bright said. "I think I spent more time off snow than I did on. But this year I didn't want to peak at X Games.

Torah Bright's Olympic Games preparation was not exactly ideal: two crashes, two concussions and a trip to the hospital in the span of a few days in January. The snowboarder was off the hill and her main competitors were throwing down dazzling runs in the pipe at the high-profile X Games in Aspen, Colo. What about those dreams of Olympic gold for the Aussie native? Most certainly . . . not so bright. "It wasn't the easiest month, I'll say that," Bright said. "I think I spent more time off snow than I did on. But this year I didn't want to peak at X Games.

Hannah Teter didn't waste any time drawing her line in the snow. The defending Olympic gold medalist in the women's halfpipe was talking about what she was going to drink and eat at the Olympics and mentioned a certain fast-food franchise. You know, that place with the golden (not medal) arches. " NOT ," she said, grinning. She felt that way long before the movie "Super Size Me" and hasn't gobbled down a Big Mac or anything on the menu in 10 years. "I have seen parts of it," Teter said.

Like the moonlight casting its glow upon the snow-covered Alps, the media spotlight has fixed its beam upon Gretchen Bleiler. She's one of the magnets of these Turin Games, complete with the familiar dramatic arc of an Olympic story: ... Falls just short of qualifying for 2002 Games, then suffers a career-threatening injury, recovers, refocuses and dominates qualifying for what might be her last chance at Olympic glory ... Bleiler, 24, of Aspen, Colo.

Hannah Teter didn't waste any time drawing her line in the snow. The defending Olympic gold medalist in the women's halfpipe was talking about what she was going to drink and eat at the Olympics and mentioned a certain fast-food franchise. You know, that place with the golden (not medal) arches. " NOT ," she said, grinning. She felt that way long before the movie "Super Size Me" and hasn't gobbled down a Big Mac or anything on the menu in 10 years. "I have seen parts of it," Teter said.

Kelly Clark didn't win the women's superpipe finals Saturday night at the Winter X Games. But she pulled off a 900-degree revolution high above the pipe's 17-foot wall, which is something very few women can do. She didn't finish second or even third, the 900 being not enough to make up for a fall earlier on her second and final run. But she ended each of her runs amid tremendous applause, which is a testament to her popularity.

There are snow days and then there are snow(boarding) days. After all, ESPN's Winter X Games here might as well be an officially sanctioned school holiday. Morning practice was finishing Thursday at Buttermilk Mountain and Olympian Gretchen Bleiler was taking off her board at the bottom of the pipe, chatting with Mike Jankowski, the U.S Olympic head halfpipe coach. Jankowski spotted a group of elementary school youngsters -- kids about 8 or 9 years old given the day off from the classroom -- peeking over the fence and practically shaking with excitement.

Along with other Olympic-obsessed Americans, I sat in my living room and watched spellbound as Ross Powers, 23, Danny Kass, 19, and J.J. Thomas, 20, threw wild stunts in the air and swept the medals in the men's half-pipe. And it's not just guys who do corkscrews and catch air. Girls do it too. Kelly Clark, 18, won America's first gold medal in the women's half-pipe with her daredevil moves. Is there any sport so cool? For the first time in my life I felt cheated by history.

3,000-Meter Speedskating G Claudia Pechstein, Germany S Renate Groenewold, Netherlands B Cindy Klassen, Canada Halfpipe Snowboard G Kelly Clark, United States S Doriane Vidal, France B Fabienne Reuteler, Switzerland Men's Downhill G Fritz Strobl, Austria S Lasse Kjus, Norway B Stephan Eberharter, Austria 90-Meter Ski Jump G Simon Ammann, Switzerland S Sven Hannawald, Germany B Adam Malysz, Poland Nordic Combined G Samppa Lajunen, Finland S Jaakko Tallus, Finland B Felix Gottwald, Austria

Only one person had a shot to beat snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler at the Winter X Games. It just happened to be Kelly Clark, an Olympic champion in 2002, and winner of all but one of the qualifiers for Vancouver. With Bleiler waiting and watching in the finish area, Clark dropped in for her third and final run and threw down a stellar performance, including a huge frontside 900. Then the hard part began. . . . waiting for the judges. Bleiler, the hometown Aspen hero, won the women's superpipe final by 0.66, edging Clark on Saturday night at Buttermilk Mountain.

There are snow days and then there are snow(boarding) days. After all, ESPN's Winter X Games here might as well be an officially sanctioned school holiday. Morning practice was finishing Thursday at Buttermilk Mountain and Olympian Gretchen Bleiler was taking off her board at the bottom of the pipe, chatting with Mike Jankowski, the U.S Olympic head halfpipe coach. Jankowski spotted a group of elementary school youngsters -- kids about 8 or 9 years old given the day off from the classroom -- peeking over the fence and practically shaking with excitement.

Like the moonlight casting its glow upon the snow-covered Alps, the media spotlight has fixed its beam upon Gretchen Bleiler. She's one of the magnets of these Turin Games, complete with the familiar dramatic arc of an Olympic story: ... Falls just short of qualifying for 2002 Games, then suffers a career-threatening injury, recovers, refocuses and dominates qualifying for what might be her last chance at Olympic glory ... Bleiler, 24, of Aspen, Colo.

Kelly Clark didn't win the women's superpipe finals Saturday night at the Winter X Games. But she pulled off a 900-degree revolution high above the pipe's 17-foot wall, which is something very few women can do. She didn't finish second or even third, the 900 being not enough to make up for a fall earlier on her second and final run. But she ended each of her runs amid tremendous applause, which is a testament to her popularity.

Along with other Olympic-obsessed Americans, I sat in my living room and watched spellbound as Ross Powers, 23, Danny Kass, 19, and J.J. Thomas, 20, threw wild stunts in the air and swept the medals in the men's half-pipe. And it's not just guys who do corkscrews and catch air. Girls do it too. Kelly Clark, 18, won America's first gold medal in the women's half-pipe with her daredevil moves. Is there any sport so cool? For the first time in my life I felt cheated by history.

A U.S. woman, Kelly Clark, won the halfpipe Sunday. The U.S. will try to match that in the men's halfpipe today. Ross Powers is considered the best bet for the United States, although Tommy Czeschin has been the most consistent on the World Cup circuit. Sweden's Magnus Sterner won the World Cup last year, duplicating a feat by his cousin Fredrik in 1998. Heikki Sorsa of Finland is another to watch.