2010 Winter Olympics: Sliver, bronze medals special to American snowboarders

CYPRESS, British Columbia — Gold is not the only color of Olympic dreams.

For some athletes, like Vermont's Kelly Clark, bronze is a victory.

"I am so happy to be walking away with another Olympic medal tonight," said Clark, who won a gold medal in 2002, finished fourth in 2006, and earned a bronze medal Thursday at Cypress behind Australia's Torah Bright (45 points) and teammate Hannah Teter (42.4 points). "This is a really special medal for me. I've worked so hard to get here. Pursuing Olympic dreams after missing the podium by one is a very difficult thing to do. I spent a lot more time preparing for this event."

Both Clark and eventual gold medalist Torah Bright fell on their first runs.

"It's never what you're looking to do, fall on the first run," Clark said. "But many of us did tonight. I worry less about what others are doing and just stick to my plan. It's about setting my own goals and achieving them."

Even with a plan and preparation, Thursday's competition was tough. Bright threw a trick no other women could land in her second run, so it was imperative that Clark's second run be flawless.

And while Clark's bronze medal run wasn't without flaws, it was a victory for a woman who's battled to stay atop an ever-changing sport.

"I think medals are really interesting things because they're prestigious especially Olympic ones, when you see them you kind of stand in awe," Clark said. "But for the person who receives them when they see (the medals) they mean so much more. I see all the hard work and all the courage and all the people who believed in me."

Clark's score of 42.2 might have only earned her third place, but she managed to land the trick that she didn't in Torino four years ago.

Teter, also from Vermont, had a rough time in practice.

"I fell and hit my bum three times, hard," said Teter, who was in first place after the first run. "It takes a lot of positive thought (to put that aside). I got it back by just visualizing and remembering that it's all fun and games."

Bright said she knew she had to be mistake-free to have a chance at taking gold from Torah.

"Torah's run was super motivating," said Teter, who donates all of the money she wins from competing to charity. "I knew I'd have to throw down super hard to try and catch her. I couldn't catch her tonight. She was on fire."

Teter thought about those in need in Haiti before her run.

"I was pumped to try and make some money and donate it to Haiti," she said. "I'm all about charity and helping other people. I've donated all of my contest money for the past three years to charity. It's motivation to want to do well."

Gretchen Bleiler finished 11th, but she also felt like she'd won a small victory as she landed a trick that had been troubling her.

e-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com