Kelly Clark (born July 26, 1983) is an American
snowboarder
Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...
who won halfpipe gold at the 2002
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
. Clark was born in
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
. She started snowboarding when she was 7 years old, began competing in 1999, and became a member of the US Snowboard team in 2000. On January 25, 2019, at the Winter X Games in Aspen, she announced her retirement from the sport.
Biography
Clark trained for competitive snowboarding a
Mount Snow Academyin
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
and graduated in spring 2001. She won a gold medal for women's
halfpipe
A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding.
Overview
The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ra ...
at the
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...
and competed in the halfpipe event again in the
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...
. She ended up placing fourth behind fellow Americans
Hannah Teter
Hannah Teter (born January 27, 1987) is an American snowboarder. She is an Olympic champion, having won the gold medal in the halfpipe at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy and silver at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. and
Gretchen Bleiler
Gretchen Elisabeth Bleiler (born April 10, 1981) is an American former professional halfpipe snowboarder. She won a silver medal at the 2006 Olympics.
Career
Born in Toledo, Ohio, Bleiler aspired to compete in the Winter X Games from a very you ...
, as well as Norwegian
Kjersti Buaas
Kjersti Østgaard Buaas (born 5 January 1982) is a Norwegian snowboarder from Trondheim. She placed 4th in women's half-pipe at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States. She received a bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in ...
. In the
2010 Vancouver Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
Kelly won a bronze medal in the halfpipe after placing third behind American silver medalist Teter and Australian
Torah Bright
Torah Jane Bright (born 27 December 1986) is an Australian professional snowboarder. She is Australia's most successful Winter Olympian, former Olympic gold and silver medalist, two time X Games gold medalist, three time US Open winner, two t ...
.
In th
TTR World Tour2007/2008 season, she recorded eight podium finishes out of 12 contest entries, with five of those as TTR Titles including the 6Star Burton European Open, the 5Star Chevrolet Grand Prix and the 6Star season-ending Roxy Chicken Jam US.
In the 2008/2009 World Tour she finished the season as Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour Champion.
Clark is based in
Mammoth Lakes, California
Mammoth Lakes is a town in Mono County, California, and is the county's only incorporated community. It is located immediately to the east of Mammoth Mountain, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,191, r ...
.
Clark is a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
. She rides with a sticker on her snowboard proclaiming, "Jesus, I cannot hide my love." She discusses her faith and
lessons from her life as a professional snowboarder in her 2017 memoir ''Inspired''.
Awards and honors
In 2015, Clark received the
Best Female Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award
The Best Female Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award is an annual award honoring the achievements of a female athlete from the world of action sports. It was first awarded as part of the ESPY Awards in 2004 after the non-gender-specific Best Action ...
.
Competition history
Highlights of Swatch TTR 2009/2010 Season
* 1st – Halfpipe – 5Star Burton New Zealand Open (Ticket to Ride (World Snowboard Tour))
* 1st – Halfpipe – 6Star Burton US Open (Ticket to Ride (World Snowboard Tour))
* 1st – Halfpipe – 6Star Roxy Chicken Jam US (Ticket to Ride (World Snowboard Tour))
Highlights of Swatch TTR 2008/2009 Season
Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour Champion 2008/09
* 3rd – Halfpipe – 5Star Burton New Zealand Open (Ticket to Ride (World Snowboard Tour))
* 1st – Halfpipe – 6Star Burton European Open (Ticket to Ride (World Snowboard Tour))
* 1st – Halfpipe – 5Star Nissan X-Trail Asian Open (Ticket to Ride (World Snowboard Tour))
* 2nd – Halfpipe – 6Star Burton US Open (Ticket to Ride (World Snowboard Tour))
* 1st – Halfpipe – 6Star Roxy Chicken Jam (Ticket to Ride (World Snowboard Tour))
Victories on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour (status: July 2010)
Career highlights
![Kelly Clark @ Mammoth Mountain Ca (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Kelly_Clark_%40_Mammoth_Mountain_Ca_%28cropped%29.jpg)
* 2010 Winter X Games – Superpipe – 1st place
* 2009
Winter Dew Tour
The Dew Tour is an extreme sports circuit organized by the Adventure Sports Group, a subsidiary of American Media, LLC.
History
The tour was announced in late 2004, and made its debut in Louisville, KY in June 2005. The tour then made stops i ...
– Dew Cup – 1st place
* 2008 Chevy Grand Prix – Tamarack – Halfpipe – 1st place
* 2008 Winter X Games – Halfpipe – 2nd place
* 2007 New Zealand Open – Quarterpipe – 1st place
* 2007 New Zealand Open – Halfpipe – 2nd place
* 2007
Burton Abominable Snow Jam – Overall – 2nd place
* 2007
Burton Abominable Snow Jam – Halfpipe – 2nd place
* 2006 US Grand Prix –
Halfpipe
A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding.
Overview
The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ra ...
– 1st pace
* 2006
Burton New Zealand Open – Quarterpipe – 1st place
* 2006
Burton New Zealand Open –
Superpipe
A superpipe is a large halfpipe structure used in extreme sports such as snowboarding, freestyle skiing, skateboarding, scooters, freestyle BMX and vert skating.
Overview
For winter sports, the term ''superpipe'' is used to describe a halfpip ...
– 1st place
* 2006 Chevrolet Grand Prix – Halfpipe – 2nd place
* 2005 FIS World Cup – Halfpipe – 1st place
* 2005 Grand Prix #3- Halfpipe – 2nd place
See also
*
List of athletes with the most appearances at Olympic Games
A small fraction of the world's population ever competes at the Olympic Games; an even smaller fraction ever competes in multiple Games. 849 athletes (260 women and 589 men) have participated in at least five Olympics from Athens 1896 to Beiji ...
*
Mount Snow
Mount Snow (previously known as Mount Pisgah) is a mountain and ski resort in southern Vermont located in the Green Mountains. It is Vermont's southernmost big mountain, and therefore, closest to many Northeast metropolitan areas.
In Septemb ...
References
* McGlinchey, Thomas D. "Olympic journeys". ''WORLD magazine''. February 13, 2010. p. 57.
Kellys Official Swatch TTR Profile* https://www.teamusa.org/us-ski-and-snowboard/athletes/Kelly-Clark
External links
*
*
*
*
*
Kelly Clark on Go211.comKelly's blog, photos and videos.
Kelly's U.S. Olympic Team bio
Onboard magazine interview with Kelly ClarkShred Betties Magazine interview with Kelly Clark
EXPN Athlete Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Kelly
1983 births
Living people
People from Dover, Vermont
Sportspeople from Vermont
American female snowboarders
American Christians
Snowboarders at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Snowboarders at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Snowboarders at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Snowboarders at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Snowboarders at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Olympic Games broadcasters
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in snowboarding
Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in snowboarding
X Games athletes
Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics
People from Mammoth Lakes, California
21st-century American women