It probably wasn't quite as dramatic as we might have hoped, and it's not technically official until the US Olympic Committee announces it, but after today's World Cup event in Switzerland Seth's spot on the Olympic team is all locked up, and he'll have a shot to defend his gold medal in Vancouver.
Seth finished 17th today, which by itself didn't do much to lock up his spot on the team. But Germany's David Spieser passed American Nick Baumgartner in the final stretch to take second place and push Baumgartner into third, which was all that needed to happen to officially confirm Seth's ticket to Vancouver.
Four riders will make the US Olympic SBX team, and according to ussnowboarding.com: "In the battle for up to four Olympic starting spots, (Nate) Holland leads the selection criteria with his win last weekend in Austria. Reigning Olympic champ Seth Wescott (Sugarloaf, ME) is next with a second place finish in the season opener in Argentina. Three riders now have a third, including Baumgartner, Watanabe and 2002 Olympic halfpipe champ Ross Powers (Okemo, VT). Baumgartner and Watanabe are tied in the first two tiebreakers (next best result), but Baumgartner leads in current World Cup rankings." (You can read the full article at http://www.ussnowboarding.com/news?storyId=2315)
Since there is only one more World Cup stop this season, and only two riders can possibly finish in second place or higher, Seth's spot is a lock. With his ticket to Vancouver assured, Seth will sit out during the final race in Quebec next week, and spend some time back here at Sugarloaf resting up before the ESPN X-Games in Aspen and then the Olympics in Vancouver.
So congrats Seth, from everyone at Sugarloaf. We'll see you soon.
Racers today in Switzerland. For more photos click here.
Ahh the life of an Olympian. After a month long heli trip to Alaska and three plus weeks in the Costa Rica surf, Seth is back home and doing what any good gold medalist does, playing golf. In all seriousness, Seth is starting in on some serious training for this winter's upcoming Olympics in Vancouver, and over the next several months you can expect lots of updates on what exactly that entails. For starters, check out Seth's recent interview with US Snowboarding, and stay tuned for lots more to come. It's going to be an exciting year.
