The color of the glitter decorating Shannon Bahrke’s cheeks and eyelashes matched the color of the medal she took home from the freestyle moguls Saturday.
Silver.
The first American medal winner of the 2002 Winter Olympics was red, white and blue all over, from hat to toe, excepting the fun cosmetics applied to her face. Gold medalist Kari Traa is almost unbeatable, but Bahrke interrupted her World Cup streak, so there was hope for the ultimate prize.
Still, Bahrke, 21, of Tahoe City, Calif., didn’t care much about color coordinating. She was thrilled to grab any medal.
“I can’t believe I’m on the podium,” Bahrke gushed. “To me it adds something special after Sept. 11. I think it makes everyone proud.”
It was even more special because two years ago Bahrke contracted a life-threatening staph infection and doctors told her she might never regain top form.
“It was really scary,” Bahrke said.
Except for Traa, 28, who hopes the gold medal she claimed creates as much of a furor at home as the controversial magazine pictures she recently posed for, the standings in the two-run event at Deer Valley Resort were volatile.
Traa, who came in as victor in five of six World Cups this winter, recorded the best score in morning qualifiying when the field was chopped to 16.
Ann Battelle, 34, of Steamboat Springs, Colo., a four-time Olympian, was sitting second, with Hannah Hardaway, 23, of Moultonborough, N.H., third and Bahrke fifth. Two American medals seemed attainable.
Competitors zigzag down a steep hill covered by moguls–snow bumps that resemble moon craters from a distance–and make complicated jumps off ramps in the middle of the run. The best tricks–spinning a full revolution, leaping in the air in a snow-angel position–garner the biggest applause.
Racers are scored on three elements with a maximum point total of 30. Only 25 percent of the score is based on time. Jumps count for 25 percent and turns count for 50 percent.
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The temperature was 19 degrees and the wind mild, but the sun was so strong it felt warmer. Bahrke, rooted on by a family-and-friends contingent of dozens from California, many wearing “Go Shannon” hats, inspired huge roars from the 13,685 fans when she completed her run and was awarded a score of 25.06. In response, she pumped her ski poles above her head.
Bahrke arrived at the Games as the only athlete to beat Traa in a World Cup this season. She also won the U.S. Gold Cup on New Year’s Eve in Park City. Her run was spectacular, but Traa bested her with a score of 25.94. Tae Satoya, 25, of Japan, the 1998 gold medalist in Nagano, took bronze with 24.85.
Satoya said her father, who was a key helper in her racing, died since the last Olympics.
“This time I said to my father I would do my best and I did my best,” she said.
Satoya jumped past Hardaway, fifth, and Battelle, seventh, in the final.
Traa became a world-class threat in 1999 when she swore off chocolate for three months. Between September and Christmas she lost 20 pounds. She still nibbles sweets sometimes but isn’t going back to her chunkier days.
The blond-haired, blue-eyed Traa recently posed for a Norwegian sports magazine, and the sauciness of her looks in scanty attire received more attention than she expected.
“They wanted to make cool pictures,” Traa said. “I did it for my sport.”
She was a happy enough winner but Traa picked apart her race.
“I just saw the tape of my run,” she said. “It was OK. It was good enough for gold.”
Bahrke was a giddy medalist and said the cheers she heard over the final 10 bumps will stay with her.
“It’s the most magnificent feeling in the world,” she said. “It’s one of the most amazing things ever.”