The Gretchen Bleiler/Hannah Teter showdown we were kind of hoping for didn’t go down yesterday during women’s qualifiers as Hannah Teter pulled out of the US Grand Prix at Copper Mountain haflpipe due to an injury to her shoulder.
That didn’t stop Bleiler from dominating qualifiers edging Kelly Clark by 1.4 points.
“I had a really good run today. I’m feeling confident, I had a lot of fun and I am excited for finals on Saturday!” Bleiler said.
Today the men’s qualifiers are on. Follow the jump for the entire USSA press release.
Bleiler Leads Women’s Qualifications in Copper
COPPER MOUNTAIN, CO (Dec. 10) – The Copper halfpipe was stacked with big air and beauty Thursday as the best women in the sport hit up the 22-foot walls for qualification runs at the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix. And, to no one’s surprise, Olympic medalists Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen, CO) and Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, VT) were the first and second place qualifiers of the day.
The sky in Summit County, was clear and blue as the ladies crippled, grabbed and spun their names into the eight final spots for Saturday’s Grand Prix finals, and X Games gold medalist Bleiler was beaming after some high quality riding.
“I had a really good run today. I’m feeling confident, I had a lot of fun and I am excited for finals on Saturday!” Bleiler said.
Japan’s Soko Yamaoka was third in qualification, but the story of the day was young Madeline Schaffrick (Steamboat Springs, CO) who busted out a third place finish in her heat to land fourth on the overall list of competitors.
The rookie prodigy was all smiles as she looked on to the scoreboard for her final standings.
“I’m really excited – I’m practically speechless. This has been a really fun beginning of the winter and I can’t wait to continue it,” Shaffrick said
Clark, the 2002 Olympic gold medalist, was happy for the day’s bluebird conditions and to be one step closer to making her bid at a third Olympic team.
“It was great to come out this morning and have qualifiers. The weather cooperated and it got a little bit warmer for us,” Clark said. “To come out and land my first run of the season at the first event is a great way to start my year and I am looking forward to finals on Saturday.”
While she might call it “sneaking in,” Ellery Hollingsworth (Stratton, VT) landed two truly solid and stylish runs to stamp her name on the list of female athletes making it into Saturday’s finals.
“I snuck in there and I qualified third. I’m pretty happy because we got the first one of the season over and now we’re into finals,” Hollingsworth said.
Reigning Olympic gold medalist Hannah Teter (Belmont, VT) decided not compete in qualifications due to an injury sustained to her shoulder in practice. She plans to be riding at the Grand Prix in Mammoth to secure a spot on the Olympic team.
All nerves aside, the crisp and sunny Thursday of halfpipe riding was merely foreshadowing for a competition where the win could truly be open for anyone to grab. Fans can check out results from Saturday’s U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix at Copper Mountain on ussnowboarding.com, facebook.com/ussnowboarding and twitter.com/ussnowboarding.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
2010 U.S. SNOWBOARDING GRAND PRIX
Copper Mountain, CO – Dec. 10
Women’s Halfpipe Qualifications
1. Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, CO, 47.10
2. Kelly Clark, Mt. Snow, VT, 45.70
3. Soko Yamaoka, Japan, 43.50
4. Maddy Schaffrick, Steamboat Springs, CO, 43.20
5. Quera Castellet, Spain, 43.00
6. Ellery Hollindsworth, Stratton, VT, 41.40
7. Holly Crawford, Australia, 41.10
8. Clair Bidez, Minturn, CO, 41.70
