Aspen, CO – U.S. snowboarder Kelly Clark, of West Dover, Vt., scored gold at the Winter X Games on Friday to secure her 13th consecutive competition with a 93.66 as part of a U.S. Snowboarding sweep of the halfpipe snowboarding.
The win was Clark’s third major victory of the year after opening wins at the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix at Copper and Breckenridge Dew Tour. She became the first woman to win back-to-back X Games gold medals in Women’s Snowboard SuperPipe with her ninth Winter X Games medal and fourth gold.
“I take it one run at a time and every contest is an opportunity to meet my goals, 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,” said Clark. “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.”
On her final run, Clark soared 14 feet out of pipe with a huge frontside 1080 to secure the victory in a trip through the pipe that also included a front side air, a back 540, cab 720 and a front 540. Teammate Elena Hight, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., was next with an 83.66 and birthday girl Hannah Teter, of Belmont, Vt., won the bronze on the same day she turned 25.
“I have had some ups and downs at X Games,” admitted Hight. “It feels good to be a little more consistent and I am riding well and having fun. It has been a great contest.”
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Winter X Games
Buttermilk Mountain – Aspen, Colo. – Jan. 27, 2012
Women’s Snowboard SuperPipe
Rank | Name | Run 1 | Run 2 | Run 3 | Best |
1 | Kelly Clark | 73.66 | 90.00 | 93.66 | 93.66 |
2 | Elena Hight | 65.00 | 80.66 | 83.66 | 83.66 |
3 | Hannah Teter | 35.00 | 76.00 | 12.00 | 76.00 |
4 | Gretchen Bleiler | 12.66 | 56.66 | 65.00 | 65.00 |
5 | Kaitlyn Farrington | 18.33 | 60.00 | 28.00 | 60.00 |
6 | Cai Xuetong | 51.66 | 39.66 | 17.33 | 51.66 |
7 | Torah Bright | 7.00 | 32.66 | 22.66 | 32.66 |
8 | Maddy Schaffrick | 14.33 | 11.00 | 12.66 | 14.33 |