Defending Olympic gold medallist Kelly Clark dominated the 2004 World Superpipe Championships on Saturday, February 21, 2004, at Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort Eagle superpipe. Not surprising, since this is the same pipe where she earned her Olympic gold medal in 2002. Clark’s aggressive style and solid, big maneuvers put her on top, edging out 14-year-old superstar Elena Hight and veteran pro Tricia Byrnes and earning the 20-year-old a $15,000 first-place award.

The prestigious invitation-only contest featured 11 of the world’s best women snowboarders competing for a $30,000 total purse in a best-of-three-runs format. “It’s a smaller field, but everyone is so good that it pushes the level of competition up,” said Byrnes, who hails from Greenwich, Connecticut. “I’m really psyched to get on the podium.” Byrnes turned in an impressive performance, pulling a backside air to a frontside 540, and immediately switching it up to a backside 540. That final run scored her an 83.40, boosting her into third place just behind Elena Hight’s opening 84.40 run. Japan’s Junko Asazuma came in fourth with her gigantic backside tailgrabs.

Overcast skies turned out light snow flurries and flat light conditions, but that didn’t keep the competitors from unleashing mind-blowing tricks in each round. “Sometimes when it’s sunny, one wall can get slushy,” Clark said. “Personally, I like it when it’s overcast. I know that both walls will be consistent every time I hit it.”

Announcers called Clark’s final run – boosting high above the lip with back-to-back 540s and a combo into a 720, scoring the winning 96.8 – better than her Olympic gold-medal run. “I’m really pleased,” said Clark, beaming after the contest. “It’s a really fun contest, the pipe was excellent, and everyone did really well.” Her next stop is the Nippon Open in Japan.

Final Results

1. Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, VT), 96.80, $15,000

2. Elena Hight (South Lake Tahoe, NV), 84.40, $8,000

3. Tricia Byrnes (Greenwich, CT) 83.40, $4,000

4. Junko Asazuma (Chiba, JPN), 81.20, $2,000

5. Stine Brun Kjeldaas (Kongsberg, NOR), 79.60, $1,000

6. Joanie Anderson (South Lake Tahoe, CA), 78.00

7. Anna Hellman (Stockholm, SWE), 65.80

8. Clair Bidez (Minturn, CO), 63.80

9. Karolina Berglow (Stockholm, SWE), 56.20

10. Hanna Lundmark (Luleo, SWE), 49.20

11. Anne Molin Kongsgaard (Kongsberg, NOR), 34.20

Defending Olympic gold medallist Kelly Clark dominated the 2004 World Superpipe Championships on Saturday, February 21, 2004, at Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort Eagle superpipe. Not surprising, since this is the same pipe where she earned her Olympic gold medal in 2002. Clark’s aggressive style and solid, big maneuvers put her on top, edging out 14-year-old superstar Elena Hight and veteran pro Tricia Byrnes and earning the 20-year-old a $15,000 first-place award.