Sochi 2014:Rising U.S. Star Kaitlyn Farrington

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Kaitlyn Farrington captured the gold medal in thewomen’s halfpipe competition on Wednesday, becoming just the third gold medalist of the Games for Team USA.

Her second-run score of 91.75 gave her a narrow win over Torah Bright of Australia, who had 91.50. Kelly Clark, also of the U.S., won bronze with a score of 90.75, edging U.S. teammate Hannah Teter, who was fourth with 90.50.
Coming into the competition, Farrington was not considered a favorite—and didn't have the name recognition of veteran teammates Hannah Teter and Kelly Clark, both former gold medalists in the event. But she had the stuff to be one of the top competitors.
Farrington was fast and precise. She landed a pristine alley-oop to start things off and fought hard through a slight loss in momentum midway through the set to finish with a good score.
It was not a surprise to see an American woman atop the podium, but it was a shock for it to be Farrington. She was the final snowboarder named to the U.S. team, and that didn't happen until mid-January after the final qualifying event at Mammoth Mountain, Calif
 From the flat of the land to the top of the mountain, Farrington won Team USA its third gold of the Sochi Games — all in snowboarding — and survived the best efforts of the past three Olympic champions to do so.