ASPEN, Colo. (AP) – Torah Bright has been touted by her peers as an innovator, someone who’s willing to push boundaries to progress women’s snowboarding.

It hasn’t always worked out, her technically difficult runs occasionally leading to wipeouts or not-so-smooth landings.

This time, Bright nailed it on snowboarding’s biggest stage.

Bright earned her first Winter X gold medal Thursday night, using a near-flawless second run to beat Olympic medalists Gretchen Bleiler and Hannah Teter in the women’s superpipe to open the four-day action sports extravaganza.

“It was awesome to see her put that run together because I’ve seen her working on it for a long time,” Bleiler said. “She’s just so consistent and it was good to see because she’s pushing women’s snowboarding.”

Bright, a 20-year-old Australian, had never finished higher than fourth before last year, when she took silver behind American Kelly Clark.

But that step up to the podium wasn’t as sweet as it could have been after Bleiler and Teter backed out of Winter X to get ready for the Turin Olympics.

Bright was the early leader in the first round after a solid run earned her 85 points, but Bleiler followed with a 91 to end the round to take the lead. But Bright didn’t back down, nailing just about every trick in a technically sound, super-smooth second run, highlighted by a difficult backside 540 that earned her 94.66 points.

“My run is a lot different tricks and that’s what I’ve been aiming for the last couple of years,” said Bright, who was fifth at the Turin Olympics. “I’ve been working toward a good, solid run that incorporates all the different spins. That for sure was the best contest run I’ve done.”

Bleiler, the 2003 and 2005 Winter X superpipe champ, skipped last year’s event to rest a leg injury before the Turin Olympics, where she ended up taking silver behind Teter. After an impressive first run, which included a frontside 900, she had the final chance at beating Bright, but fell while trying to land a 900 (three complete revolutions) on her first trick.

“I was psyched because you sometimes need someone to light the fire,” Bleiler said after watching Bright’s second run. “And it did – I was a little too amped and fell.”

Teter, who hasn’t competed since undergoing knee surgery in April, fell on her first run before landing a 900 on the second that boosted her into third at 85.33.

She was later bumped from the podium by fellow American Elena Hight, who dropped a backside 900 on her way to 88 points and a bronze medal.

While it was a bit surprising to not see Teter on the podium – she won Olympic gold and was the 2004 Winter X superpipe champ – Hight’s rise was expected.

Considered a phenom since her preteen years, the 17-year-old became the youngest woman to land a 900 in competition when she did it at 13, won her first professional competition in 2005 and was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team last year at 16.

Younger and smaller – 5-foot-1, 115 pounds – than many of her competitors, Hight now is on equal standing with riders she used to watch.

“It’s pretty crazy,” said Hight, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif. “When I was young, I used to look up to Kelly and everyone so much. I have their signatures on this old T-shirt from when I was 10. It’s so surreal that I’m standing next to them competing.”

AP-ES-01-26-07 0008EST

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