Sochi 2014: Belle Brockhoff, Torah Bright miss snowboard cross final
Updated
Australian pair Belle Brockhoff and Torah Bright have missed out on qualifying for the snowboard cross final at the Sochi Winter Olympics.
Brockhoff qualified for the semi-finals of the snowboard cross while compatriot Torah Bright tumbled out of the quarter-finals.
Brockhoff had made a great start in her semi-final and sat in the top three before making contact with Canada's Dominique Maltais and crashing out.
The Aussie described her crash as "just part of racing" and said the experience would drive her to the next Winter Games.
"I'm so happy right now. It's my best result all season," Brockhoff said.
"I was taken out by a girl that's gone on to come second and that's just part of racing.
"I've got a lot more knowledge now, especially from this race, so I'll carry on for the next few years."
The Australian then raced in the "small final", leading in the early stages before finishing second for an eighth-place finish overall.
Brockhoff and Bright were seeded to race each other in the quarter-finals and came together late in the race while battling for the third and final semi-final position.
Bright ended the tussle on the snow and Brockhoff went on to finish third and progress through to the semi-finals.
"I was so glad I didn't take her (Brockhoff) out," Bright said after the race.
"I saw her go over the line and I was like, 'yes, thank you'.
"I'm so happy Belle's gone through to the next round."
Big congrats to @bellebrockhoff & @TorahBright ! Belle you rode really strong, unlucky to miss the final but still a huge result! - @chumpypullin
Czech Eva Samkova avoided the rough and tumble of the pack by leading from the front all day to claim the gold medal.
The 20-year-old, sporting a fake moustache on her top lip for good luck, dominated all three of her races on the Extreme Park course and crossed the line well clear in the final.
Maltais took silver to add to the bronze she won in Turin eight years ago, while French teenager Chloe Trespeuch won the bronze after overhauling Bulgarian Alexandra Jekova over the last couple of hundred metres.
Defending champion Maelle Ricker of Canada was knocked out when she fell in the second quarter-final and the same fate befell Turin silver medallist Lindsey Jacobellis in the semi-finals.
Earlier, Brockhoff was the best of the Australian pair in the seeding runs, clocking a time of 1:23:22 minutes in the first seeding run to qualify equal seventh.
She then did not take her second run.
Bright, competing in the third of her Olympic snowboard disciplines, clocked a time of 1:25:32 minutes to qualify 20th after her first run.
She then improved that time to 1:23:96 in her second run to move up to 15th.
Competitors taken to hospital
Two of the first six riders in the opening snowboard cross seeding run fell heavily and were taken away on stretchers, a day after Russian freestyle skier Maria Komissarova was seriously injured on the same course.
Komissarova underwent more than six hours of spinal surgery at Krasnaya Polyana Hospital Number 8 on Saturday after breaking her back in a crash during training for the women's ski cross at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.
The course for the snowboarding event has some different sections but many of the same jumps, twists and turns.
Norwegian Helene Olafsen was the first rider out and after one jump turned 180 degrees before landing on her back and shoulder.
There was a lengthy delay as she was attended to on the course but she appeared to be conscious as she was stretchered off the slope.
American Jacqueline Hernandez, who went out sixth, was the second faller, hitting the slope with a thud as she tried to land backwards and appearing to lose consciousness as the whiplash smashed her head into the snow.
Again there was a delay as she received medical treatment but again she had recovered consciousness before she was taken away on the stretcher.
ABC/Reuters
Topics: winter-sports, winter-olympics, sport, russian-federation
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