Winter Olympics 2014 Team USA Womens Snowboarding
Sochi Olympics - February 7 - 23, 2014
Three events, eleven American women.... the Sochi 2014 Olympics are going to be a wild ride, especially for our fun-loving, competitive snowboarding team. Team USA is primed and ready to show the world our talent in a truly American sport, snowboarding. The three events are Halfpipe, Slopestyle, and Snowboardcross or Boardercross. This will be the first year that Slopestyle is a part of the Olympic agenda, and it's very exciting to have this facet of the sport exhibited on a worldwide scale. Read more about our female snowboarders who have worked hard to get to where they are today. Go Team USA!
Halfpipe
Kelly Clark, 30
Long-time competitor Kelly Clark is back for her fourth Olympics, hopeful for yet another winning medal. In 2002, the 18-year-old scored gold in Salt Lake City. In the 2006 games in Torino, she scored a close fourth place. At the Vancouver Winter Olympics of 2010, Clark went home with a bronze medal. She has won a number of medals at the Grand Prix, X Games, and World Cup. Recently, on January 27, 2014, Clark won her fifth gold medal in a row at the X Games. Could the 2014 Olympics be another easy win?
Kelly grew up in snowy Vermont and has been snowboarding since she was seven years old. She now lives in California where she rides Mammoth Mountain and trains for competition. Kelly Clark loves what she does and wants others to share that joy with her, which is why she started the Kelly Clark Foundation in 2010 to help young snowboarders with scholarships so they too can pursue their dreams.
Arielle Gold, 17
The youngest female competing in half pipe, Arielle Gold at the age of 17 is a newbie who definitely has the talent to compete in the Olympic Games. So far, she's won a gold medal at the World Championships, a silver medal at the Grand Prix, as well as the bronze medal at the Winter X Games. Who knows what this Colorado native has up her sleeve for the Olympics?
Originally from Steamboat Springs and now living in Breckenridge, Colorado, Gold also loves riding horses, owning two of her own. But snowboarding seems to be a family thing, as her brother Taylor Gold is also competing in the Olympics this year. Perhaps the Gold siblings will bring home the gold...
Kaitlyn Farrington, 24
The first female to land a backside 900, Kaitlyn Farrington has won her fair share of medals in the snowboarding. Since 2008, Farrington has been a top name in competition, from the Dew Tour to the World Cup to the U.S. Grand Prix. She has yet to add an Olympic medal to the list, but this could be her year.
Growing up in Idaho, Farrington's cattle rancher father used to sell off cows to finance her competition travels. Those years have paid off as Farrington is now one of the top snowboarders in the world. Now a resident of Salt Lake City, Utah, she is ready to show her stuff in Sochi.
- Hannah's Gold
Sweetening the World one bottle at a time! - hannah teter (hannahteter) on Twitter
Hannah Teter, 27
Hannah Teter is set to go for her third Olympic Games. Having won the gold medal in halfpipe in Torino at the age of 19 and also the silver medal four years later in Vancouver, Teter is not a newbie to the Olympic rush. She is also a multi-medalist at the Winter X Games.
Growing up in Vermont, Teter took after her older snowboarding brothers, two of which were pro. In 2002, at the age of 15, Hannah was the first female to land a 900 in competition, and ever since, the road has been ever up. But Teter hasn't let fame go to her head: she donates much of her winnings to charities such as Hannah's Gold which helps a village in Kenya by building schools and filtering water.
Slopestyle
Jamie Anderson, 23
Riding since she was nine years old, Jamie Anderson won her first professional competition at age 15. She's a four-time champion at the Winter X Games and a seven-time gold medalist on the Dew Tour. She was the youngest medalist at the X Games in 2006 at the age of 15, and only recently was the record broken by thirteen-year-old Chloe Kim.
Anderson grew up in Lake Tahoe, was home-schooled, and was one of eight kids. She's always loved being outdoors, and she fell in love with snowboarding at a young age. Her sister Joanie is also a snowboarder, competing in snowboardcross.
Jessica Jenson, 22
Riding since age 10 and competing since age 14, Jessika Jenson is a rising star. With this year being the first for the Olympics to hold a snowboarding slopestyle competition, no one knows what will happen. Jenson has done well this season so far, placing third at two of the U.S. Gran Prix competitions. She's sure to bring some great talent to the U.S. team.
Jenson grew up in Idaho, where she used to ride Kelly Canyon with her family every season.
Karly Shorr, 19
Karly Shorr may be young, but she's been competing since 2008. Karly Shorr is fairly new to the U.S. Snowboarding team, and so far she's been a surprise in the snowboarding scene. But qualifying for the first ever slopestyle competition at the Olympics says something, and we're ready to see what she'll do with her sudden fame.
Growing up in a Michigan, an unlikely habitat for pro snowboarders, Karly learned her stuff at Boyne Mountain. Although her two older brothers were snowboarders, Karly at first competed in gymnastics, but she has since switched to slopestyle riding. She now lives in Lake Tahoe where she can train and prepare for Sochi.
Ty Walker, 16
The youngest American female rider going to the Olympics, Ty Walker has proven herself in competition over the past few seasons. Driven with ambition, she's headed to Sochi determined to find her place among world-class athletes.
Growing up on the East Coast, Ty Walker has been snowboarding in Vermont since she was seven years old. Her family went on ski trip about every other weekend, fueling Ty's drive and love of her sport.
Snowboard Cross
Lindsey Jacobellis, 28
Two-time Olympian Lindsey Jacobellis is back for the third time, hoping to make up for her loss in Vancouver 2010. Although she won silver at the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Lindsey barely missed the podium due to a bad landing. But Jacobellis, hasn't let that get her down. A seasoned competitor, she's scored eight gold medals at the X Games and three gold medals at the World Championships.
Lindsey's older brother introduced her to snowboarding, and she also got the opportunity to attend Stratton Mountain School in Vermont where she was able to focus much of her time on her sport. It wasn't long before Lindsey became a familiar name in the land of snowboardcross, and she's back for more in Sochi.
Jackie Hernandez, 21
Only on the competition radar a couple of seasons, Jackie Herandez has had quite a few ups and downs. She has won 6 Nor-Ams, all in 2012. Later, she suffered a broken arm, but that hasn't held her back. Now qualified for the Olympic team, Jackie is ready to show what she's made of.
Growing up with a family who skied and snowboarded, Jackie has been on the snow almost as long as she can remember. She graduated from Stratton Mountain School in 2010 and has been focusing on riding ever since.
Faye Gulini, 21
Only a year after learning to snowboard, Faye Gulini competed in her first SBX competition at age 10. She was on the Olympic team to Vancouver in 2010 at age 17, and ever since she's been riding her way up as a pro boarder, competing well in World Cups and the X Games.
Faye grew up in Utah and Colorado, snowboarding slopestyle as well as halfpipe before she really got involved in boardercross. Now on her way to her second Olympics, Faye is hopeful to rise to the top.
Who's Your Favorite Female Rider?
Read more by Rose West
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