Anderson Clinches Olympic Spot
MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN, CA (Jan. 16) – Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, CA) mathematically clinched the first spot on the U.S. Olympic slopestyle snowboarding team with her victory Thursday at the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain. Ryan Stassel (Anchorage) took the victory for the men, while favorite Shaun White (Carlsbad, CA) fell hard during his first run and couldn’t put together a complete second run. It was the third Olympic qualifier of five, and the fourth qualifier commenced Thursday at 4:30 p.m..
HIGHLIGHTS
- Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, CA) mathematically clinched the first spot on the U.S. Olympic slopestyle snowboarding team with her victory Thursday at the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain.
- Karly Shorr (Milford, MI) took second, Ty Walker (Stowe, VT) third and Jorda Karlinski (Snowmass, CO) fourth.
- Ryan Stassel (Anchorage) took the victory for the men with Sage Kotsenburg (Park City UT) taking second and Chas Guldemond (Reno, NV) in third. Eric Beauchemin finished just off the podium in fourth.
- Shaun White (Carlsbad, CA) fell hard in his first run and couldn’t put together a complete second run.
- None of the men have yet clinched a spot on the Olympic team, so the selection will come down to the final two events.
- Anderson’s winning run: 50-50, back lip, tail 270 out, frontside 360 shifty, backside 540 and cab 720.
- Stassel’s winning run: Backside 270 to 270 out, switch backside 270, switch backside bluntslide, switch backside 900, frontside 1080 and backside 1260.
- Walker’s run: Boardslide, gap to front boardslide, 50-50 backside 180 out, cab 540 tail, frontside 360 indy, backside 720 mute.
- It was third Olympic qualifier of five, after the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix at Breckenridge was canceled last week because of challenging weather conditions.
- The fourth qualifier commenced Thursday at 4:30 p.m..
QUOTES
Jamie Anderson
I’m so excited and grateful. The weather is absolutely gorgeous. It is a little unfortunate that the event got canceled last week, but I’m so happy we were able to make it up and get a good result. The course is really fun. They did a great job with the snow that they really don’t have.
It definitely brings some peace knowing that I’ve locked in my spot. I still definitely want to do well at the next events, but this was the one I was pretty nervous for and really just wanted to put down a run and go from there.
Ryan Stassel
I feel good. I’ve been needing that for a long time. It’s good that all the training and hard work has finally paid off. I just try to focus on my run, and if I land it, it’s generally one of the better runs that day, and if I don’t then it’s just me against myself. It’s just nice to have everything come together and land.
Ty Walker
I feel great. The other girls put down awesome runs and I was a little nervous. I didn’t know if I should step up my run or keep it mellow but just try to get another good result. I’m really happy that I stuck with the plan, stayed the course and was able to put down a good one.
