Jacobellis Just Misses Snowboardcross Medal

Lindsey Jacobellis (Roxbury, Conn.) finished fourth in women's snowboardcross Friday afternoon at Phoenix Park.

Jacobellis, the only American rider to survive the quarterfinals, took the early lead in the big final, but was overtaken on the bottom third of the course before a rider fell in front of her near the finish, which may have been the difference between fourth and a spot on the podium.

“On this course, you really don’t want to have the holeshot because someone is going to draft you,” Jacobellis said. “But that is kind of the risk you take because you don’t want to be stuck in traffic. I tried to stay in the mix and look for opportunities to pass back again. But it just didn’t pan out because we just kind of ran out of course.”

The gold medal went to Italy's Michela Moioli, while Julia Pereira de Sousa Mabileau of France picked up the silver. Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic took the bronze medal, crossing the line a mere 0.03-seconds ahead of Jacobellis, the silver medalist from the 2006 Torino Games.

Meghan Tierney (Edwards, Colo.) and Faye Gulini (Salt Lake City) were in the third heat of the quarterfinal round, but crashed out and did not advance to the semifinals.

RESULTS
Women’s Snowboardcross