Tuesday, December 18

Dunn Wins At Mammoth

By Jennifer Sherowski
Snowboarding-Online.com

It's official: Shannon Dunn is going to the Olympics again after her win this Sunday, December 16 at the second of the Mammoth Grand Prix halfpipe competitions. With a run of sizable airs, a McTwist, and a frontside seven, Shannon's final runs left her 20,000 dollars richer, with nothing to worry about until Salt Lake.

Shannon and Trish with the big check.

"I'm so psyched," she said after the awards. "These things are so stressful. Now I can relax and focus on my riding."

Shannon Dunn.

Tricia Byrnes earned her second number-two placing with big frontside fives. She had a little trouble with a McTwist on her last run but will undoubtedly be hammering those in the future. And Norway's Stine Brun Kjeldaas, one of the many Europeans who came over to ensure the Americans keep their game sharp, pulled out a frontside seven or two for third place.

Tricia Byrnes.

Dunn stomping her tricks was the key to her win, as several other girls had a hard time sticking runs that could have potentially gotten the gold. Gretchen Bleiler had a nasty backside five to frontside five, but fell on a backflip to fakie at the bottom of both her runs. She'll be dominating if she can get that combination down. And the ever-explosive Kelly Clark couldn't quite hold it together either. Well, two more weeks to practice for the next Grand Prix event in Bachelor.