Jim Posted February 17, 2006 Posted February 17, 2006 Can't make this stuff up. BARDONECCHIA, Italy (AP) -- Lindsey Jacobellis had the Olympic women's snowboardcross won, and then -- incredibly, inexcusably -- she made one last move on the next-to-last jump and fell. She lost. Coasting to what should have been an easy victory, the American grabbed her board on the way to the finish line. It caused her to fall and while she scrambled to her feet, Switzerland's Tanja Frieden sped past and became the first champion in the strange and wild sport of Olympic women's snowboardcross Friday. Jacobellis won silver, but should have had the gold. She was well, well ahead of Frieden, and the other two women in the four-rider final had fallen long before. Snowboarding is about style, though, so Jacobellis decided to show off for the fans in front of the grandstand near the end of her ride. But after she landed from her grab, she caught an edge, then went tumbling outside the blue line. When she recovered, she trailed Frieden over the finish line, then put her hands on her knees and held her palms up. U.S. coach Peter Foley fell onto the ground in disbelief. He said Jacobellis has always had a tendency to grab her board for stability, but after looking at a frame-by-frame breakdown of the jump shot by Associated Press photos, he conceded Jacobellis probably had gone over the top. "She definitely styled that a little too hard," he said. Foley wasn't alone. "Sometimes it's subconscious, but that was putting on a show," said American Seth Wescott, the men's champion from the day before. "It's one of those things. I did it in my early rides yesterday but you've got to choose your time and make sure you don't miss." Quote
olyclimber Posted February 17, 2006 Posted February 17, 2006 typical! but if it was a guy, would you have even posted this article? Quote
Jim Posted February 17, 2006 Author Posted February 17, 2006 Abosolutely. I'm equal opportunity when it comes to idiotic snowboarder behavior. Quote
ashw_justin Posted February 18, 2006 Posted February 18, 2006 Yeah but if she'd stuck it, we'd all be super stoked. GO BIG OR GO HOME! Quote
catbirdseat Posted February 18, 2006 Posted February 18, 2006 It's called "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory". I think that phrase was coined on Gilligan's Island. Quote
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