ROSA KHUTOR, Russia, February 12 (R-Sport) – Kaitlyn Farrington succeeded Wednesday where her fellow American Shaun White had failed, winning snowboard halfpipe gold at the Sochi Olympics.
Farrington, who needed two qualifying rounds to reach the final, laid down a clean run to score 91.75 for the gold medal, with defending champion Torah Bright just 0.25 points behind, winning Australia’s first medal in Sochi.
In her last Olympics, 2002 gold medalist Kelly Clark of the U.S. left with the bronze, taking the medal with the last run of the competition, a 90.75 score let down only one scuffed landing. That turfed another American, Hannah Teter, into fourth by a quarter of a point.
On Tuesday, gold in the men’s snowboard halfpipe event went to Switzerland’s Iouri Podladtchikov, with two-time defending champion White of the U.S. failing to medal.
