When it comes to the betting circuit, Kelly Clark is heavily weighed as a favourite going in. She already has a gold medal from Salt Lake City in 2002. In Turin, Clark gave what is still considered one of the finest performances for a woman (and frankly, either sex) on the halfpipe.
The women's snowboard halfpipe event gets under way at 3:30 p.m. ET, on Thursday. Here is a breakdown of the competition:
The Contenders:
If the World Cup standings are any indication this event looks to be a practical Chinese shoe-in. But the reality is that Americans have traditionally dominated this event, and there's three highflying women to watch here.
When it comes to the betting circuit, Kelly Clark is heavily weighed as a favourite going in. She already has a gold medal from Salt Lake City in 2002. In Turin, Clark gave what is still considered one of the finest performances for a woman (and frankly, either sex) on the halfpipe. Her only downfall was when she caught an edge doing a frontside 900, a trick that rarely ever sees the light of day. Her inspired performance four years ago could be a prelude to what's to come at Vancouver.
Hannah Teter, the reigning Olympic gold medal winner, is another American to watch. Although she took a break after her win in Turin, Teter returned to strong finishes at the Winter X Games and the Lake Tahoe Grand Prix (where she clinched gold.) Fellow U.S. snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler rounds out the American triple threat. She was the silver medalist in Turin, and is the talk of the town after beating Teter at the Mammoth Mountain Grand Prix to claim the top of the podium.
Whatever the results, the American trio are sure to light up the halfpipe with their battle for all three medals.
The Top Five (current World Cup rankings)
1. Xuetong Cai, China, 3040 pts
2. Zhifeng Sun, China, 2805 pts
3. Xu Chen, China, 1840 pts
4. Jiayu Liu, China, 1500 pts
5. Sophie Rodriguez, France, 1450
Canadian Medal Hopes
Canadian medal hopes here are slim. The lead contender is Sarah Conrad, who failed to qualify for the finals during the 2006 Turin Olympics. She is ranked 11th on the World Cup circuit, where she's only had two podium showings in her career: a silver in 2008 and a bronze last year.
The Dark Horse
Australian flag carrier Torah Bright placed 5th at the Turin Olympics in 2006 when she was 19. She comes back with a little more experience, and could be the wildcard that could upset American hopes for podium domination in the event.
