2010 Winter Olympics: Wescott wins snowboard cross

CYPRESS MOUNTAIN, British Columbia — The chance to carry a flag that once was draped across his grandfather's casket was just part of what powered Seth Wescott from a lackluster qualifying run to a jaw-dropping gold-medal performance in snowboard cross Monday at Cypress Mountain.

"That (flag) was part of the motivation to get to this moment," said the 33-year-old from Maine. That American flag was given to Wescott by his father after Wescott won the gold medal at the first Olympic Snowboard Cross event in Torino four years ago. In that moment, his father fought through the crowd and jumped a security fence to hand his son the flag that once covered the coffin of his grandfather, a World War II veteran. "I brought it so if I got to this moment, I'd have it."

And what he had to do to get to that moment was astounding.

In order to drape that flag around his neck and honor his grandfather, Wescott had to race from the worst position on the slushy, unpredictable track three of four races. He was one of the few to admit the course was difficult.

"You're pretty much riding blind," he said of the ever-changing course that warm weather has nearly destroyed. He was likely the only person not surprised by his comeback.

Wescott qualified 17th out of 32 athletes and then he had to place in the top two of the next three races to get into the gold medal race.

Still, he said he was confident he could defend his gold medal.

"I'd made some mistakes in there earlier in the day," said Wescott. "I knew if I came back and executed it correctly, I could do it. It wasn't a situation of looking for a miracle at all."

Wescott went from the back of the pack to first place in a series of curves and jumps that caused his teammate Nate Holland to spin out and finish fourth. He edged Canada's Nate Robertson by just a few inches, while France's Tony Ramoin won the bronze.

It was a thrilling finish that brought the crowd, mostly made up of Americans and Canadians, to its feet.

"I had a bad start in that final, but you can't let that get to you," said Wescott. "The race isn't won until the finish line."

The course was treacherous as most of the favorites went down in preliminary rounds, including Alex Pullin, Australia, who had the fastest qualifying time; Markus Schairer, Austria; and his U.S. teammate Graham Watanabe, currently second in the World Cup standings.