Kelly Clark Grabs 4th X Games Gold Medal
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From: Editor January 28, 2012 |
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Kelly Clark - Gold - photo: ESPN
Gretchen Bleiler - Silver - photo ESPN
Hannah Teter - Bronze - photos: ESPN
The goal of any competitor in Winter X Games Aspen 2012 is too perform so well that you make it look easy. Kelly Clark accomplished that goal Friday Night at Buttermilk Mountain as her third run score of 93.66 was 10 points higher than her closest competitor winning her gold in Snowboard SuperPipe.
“I take it one run at a time and every contest is an opportunity to meet my goals,” Clark said. “I am really happy to come out on top and I am so happy to be here and happy with my riding, which is so important.
The winning run included a front side air, a back 540, front 1080, cab 720 and a front 540.
With the win, Clark became the first woman to win back-to-back gold medals in Women’s Snowboard SuperPipe, her ninth total Winter X Games medal. It was also her thirteenth consecutive SuperPipe win this season.
“It is incredible,” Clark said. “I had the best season of my life last year and I didn’t expect the streak to keep going. I think the things that I prioritized are really paying big dividends right now. I am really enjoying myself and learning new things.”
The silver and bronze medals went to two South Lake Tahoe, Calif. natives, Elena Hight and Hannah Teter, who celebrated her 25th birthday Friday night.
“It feels good,” the silver medalist Hight said. “I have had some ups and downs at X Games. It feels good to be a little more consistent and I am riding well and having fun. It has been a great contest.”
“It feels really good,” Teter said of her bronze medal. “I didn’t know what to expect going into tonight. I just wanted to have fun and stay safe and everyone to stay safe so it was successful. “
The Snowboard SuperPipe event represents the progression of the sport and showcases the best pipe riders in the world. The SuperPipe course consists of a large halfpipe structure with vertical walls. The course is approximately 567-foot long and 66 feet wide, with 22-foot walls. SuperPipe is judged on amplitude, execution, difficulty, landings and use of the course.
