TORINO: Snowboard: Switzerland's Daniela Meuli wins giant slalom gold

TORINO: Snowboard: Switzerland’s Daniela Meuli wins giant slalom gold{mosimage}BARDONECCHIA, Italy – As they so often do in the Swiss-dominated event of parallel giant slalom, clanging cowbells announced the winner.

Three-time defending world cup champion Daniela Meuli of Switzerland gave her country and its red-clad, raucous, flag-waving Alpine fans a second gold in as many days. Philipp Schoch won the men’s event Wednesday, with brother Simon winning silver.

But Meuli didn’t have to work as hard for this victory, cruising across the line in the semifinals after eventual bronze medalist Rosey Fletcher of the United States fell, then winning the championship heat easily after Amelie Kober crashed and slid into the safety fence just as it appeared the German might overtake Meuli.

Meuli threw her arms skyward even before crossing the finish in the gold medal race, then collapsed and slid to a stop on her back with her hands on her head.

In the bronze-medal race, Fletcher took a 1.5-second lead in the first run after Austrian Doris Guenther went down. Fletcher still needed to make that lead stand up when she switched to the red course, which had been the slower and more treacherous course throughout the event.

Racing cautiously, Fletcher allowed Guenther to make up ground on the top of the course, but then the American put it in overdrive on the bottom and won easily.

The Alaskan came to a stop bent over with emotion, hands over her goggles. Then the hugs started and the tears flowed.

It was a huge victory for the U.S. team, as the 30-year-old Fletcher was considered a long shot to make it to the medal stand in her third Olympic appearance.

Fellow American Michelle Gorgone finished 22nd. A first-time Olympian, Gorgone did not advance out of the qualifying round as only the top-16 riders from the field made it. In her first qualifying run, Gorgone recorded a time of 43.59 on the blue course, which ranked her 28th. She stepped it up on the red course during her elimination round run, posting a time of 40.84. It ranked her ninth in that run, but it wasn’t enough to advance.

Fletcher’s bronze was the seventh medal won by American riders at the ’06 Olympics. U.S. snowboarders procured at least one medal in five of six events and multiple medals in two. Since snowboarding debuted at the ’98 Nagano Games, the U.S. has collected 14 total medals, including five golds, four silvers and five bronzes.

The women’s PGS was the final snowboard event of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.

– Associated Press / USOC