TORINO: Snowboard: White, Kass go 1-2 for halfpipe medals

TORINO: Snowboard: White, Kass go 1-2 for halfpipe medals{mosimage}BARDONECCHIA, Italy ”The Flying Tomato” got his gold.

Redheaded snowboarding superstar Shaun White punked the competition on the halfpipe Sunday, beating out teammate Danny Kass to win the Olympic gold medal that so many expected him to get.

It was another dominating day in snowboarding for the Americans, who fell one bronze medal short of repeating their history-making sweep of 2002.

A solid run by third-place finisher Markuu Koski of Finland wrecked those hopes. Eighteen-year-old Mason Aquirre of the U.S. placed fourth.

Still, this day can hardly be deemed a disappointment for the United States, desperately in need of some good news after busts on the alpine and moguls courses this weekend and the sudden withdrawal of Michelle Kwan in figure skating.

It was no surprise that White supplied the magic. Wearing a stars-and-stripes bandanna across his chest, his mop of red hair peeking out from under the helmet, he soared through the crystal blue sky for the winning score of 46.8 on his first run of the finals.

That run offered the typical brilliance from this California kid, a 19-year old who got his first endorsement deal six years ago. With AC/DC’s ”Back In Black” blaring over the sound system, White practically touched the sky on his first jump, soaring over the edge of the pipe. He came back with consecutive 1080-degree jumps, grabbing his board on both, which earns big style points from the judges. Then, it was a pair of 900s, each high enough that he could pretty much pick his landing spot on the snow.

In halfpipe finals, riders get two trips down the chute and only their best score counts. After White’s winning run, he waited and watched the 11 riders take their second trip. Nobody could best his score, though, and when the second-to-last rider, Koski, fell on his final jump, White knew he had the gold wrapped up.

He threw his fists in the air, hugged his coaches, sat down to celebrate, then stood at the top and waved to the crowd.

Then, the final run. It could have been time for him to show off that vaunted backside 1080 air everyone was waiting for, but he was gassed, especially after a harrowing trip through qualifying where he was the last of the four Americans to make the finals.

So, after a few high kicks off the side, he slipped and fell then simply glided down the bottom, ready to wrap himself in the American flag that was waiting.

Both he and Kass draped themselves in the flag during the flower ceremony. Indeed, it was a red-white-and-blue kind of day heavy on the red.

‘‘Il Pomodoro Volante‘ as he’s known in Italy, has long said he wished he could have another nickname something a little more cool. But really, is there anyone more hip than an Olympic champion in halfpipe?

This was a sport that didn’t seem to fit into the Olympic program in its first two tries. Snowboarders didn’t like the conformist nature that has long surrounded the Olympics, nor did they like the rules set down by skiing’s governing bodies, which didn’t really seem to get the spirit of their sport.

A lot of that changed with the historic wins in 2002, so much so that White came into the Torino Games as something of a household name. This victory, on top of five straight wins in Olympic qualifying events and victories at the recent X Games, only adds to the resume.