KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Kaitlyn Farrington of the US captured gold in the women’s Olympic snowboarding halfpipe final Wednesday, edging defending champion Torah Bright and American teammate Kelly Clark for the title.
Farrington posted a score of 91.75 during her second run, just good enough to beat Bright’s 91.50. Clark, who smacked the wall during her first run in the finals, recovered to earn bronze and win her third Olympic medal.
Farrington, who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, had spent most of the run-up to the games playing second fiddle to Clark, the 2002 Olympic champion. The 24-year-old needed to navigate the semifinals to reach the medal round but responded brilliantly.
The victory gave the US just its third gold medal of the Games, all of them coming at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.