Idaho native Kaitlyn Farrington captured gold in the women's Olympic snowboarding halfpipe final Wednesday, edging out defending champion Torah Bright and American teammate Kelly Clark for the title.
Farrington, who grew up in Bellevue, Idaho 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 now 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 U.S. its third gold medal of the Games, all of them coming at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.
Farrington became the first female snowboarder to perform a 'backside 900.' She learned to snowboard in fifth grade, and grew up on a cattle ranch in the Wood River Valley. She’s had five wrist surgeries and according to her USA Olympic team bio “collects refrigerator magnets from her travel stops.”
Farrington's winning run will air Wednesday night on NBC during their primetime broadcast, which starts at 7:00 p.m. Mountain Time.
Until then, here's some reaction to Farrington's big win.