Torah Bright

Torah Bright

Torah Bright on 27 February 2010
Personal information
Born	27 December 1986 (1986-12-27) Cooma, New South Wales, Australia
Height	5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Sport
Country	Australia
Sport	Snowboarding
Medal record Women's snowboarding Competitor for Australia Olympic Games Gold 2010 Vancouver Halfpipe X Games medal record Gold 2007 Aspen Superpipe Gold 2009 Aspen Superpipe Silver 2006 Aspen Superpipe Silver 2008 Aspen Superpipe

Torah Jane Bright (born 27 December 1986, Cooma, New South Wales) is an Australian snowboarder. She turned pro at age 14 and finished fifth in snowboarding at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. She lives and trains in the area of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. She won gold in the 2010 Winter Olympics in the halfpipe.

Personal life

Born to parents Peter and Marion Bright, Bright is the fourth of five siblings. Her parents named her Torah after Marion Bright learned the word meant "bearer of great message" in addition to referring to the Five books of Moses.^{[citation needed]} She grew up in Cooma, New South Wales, and attended Cooma North Primary School at the base of the Snowy Mountains, and initially started out as a downhill ski racer. Bright is married to American snowboarder Jake Welch, and got married in Salt Lake City, USA June 2010.

Bright uses a goofy stance and is coached by brother Ben. Older sister Rowena competed in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

Bright is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "For me it's just a way of life – I don't drink, smoke, drink tea or coffee, or have sex before marriage. I've never drunk or smoked but I'll go out to dance and stay up late and then drive home at the end of the night."^{[citation needed]}

Career

Bright finished 30th overall at the 2005 World Championships in Whistler, Canada and was runner up for the World Cup title during the 2003–04 season.

Bright entered only two World Cup events during the 2004–05 season, both in February at the 2006 Winter Olympic venue of Bardonecchia. She placed third in both events, qualifying for the Australian Olympic team.

In 2006, Bright earned a silver medal at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado. She returned the following year, winning the gold medal in the women's superpipe event. She is the first Australian snowboarder to ever win gold at the Winter X Games (11), beating Winter Olympic medalists Gretchen Bleiler and Hannah Teter.

In 2007, Bright took first at the Nissan X-Trail Nippon Open in the women's halfpipe, giving her back-to-back wins in two consecutive competitions. At the 2007 World Super Pipe Championships in Park City, Utah, Bright won first place, beating 2002 Olympic gold medalist Kelly Clark. In late 2007, she made the podium for both events in the Roxy Chicken Jam, the final event in the TTR (Ticket to Ride) Snowboard Tour, where she became the 2007 TTR world champion.

In 2010, at the Winter Olympics at Vancouver, Bright was chosen to carry the flag for Australia at the opening ceremonies, and qualified for the number one spot for the final of the Women's half-pipe, despite suffering two concussions beforehand in training. Crashing out in her first run in the final, Bright was the first competitor to make a second run. With a successful second run, she posted a score of 45.0, which remained the highest score through the field's second run. Bright became the fourth Australian to win a Winter Olympics Gold medal.

Sponsorships

Bright has a head-to-toe sponsorship with Roxy, the female-specific brand of Action-sports company Quiksilver. For the 2008–2009 season, in 2008, she worked to expand her career into design, working on a new addition to the Roxy's women's line, dubbed the "Bright Series", which includes her snowboard, the Roxy Eminence. Her other sponsors include Boost Mobile.

Competition Results

2010

• 1st – Halfpipe – Winter Olympics (2010 Winter Olympics)

2009

• 1st – Superpipe – Toyota Championship (Winter Dew Tour)
• 1st – Superpipe – EXPN Winter X games 13 (Aspen, Colorado)

2008

• 2nd – TTR World Snowboard Tour 07/08
• 1st – Superpipe – World Superpipe Championships – Park City, UT.
• 2nd – Superpipe – EXPN Winter X Games 12 (Aspen)
• 1st – Superpipe – Nippon Open Japan
• 1st – Superpipe – Burton US Open, Vermont
• Burton Global Open Champion

2007

• Burton Global Open Champion
• TTR World Snowboard Tour Champion 06/07
• 1st – Halfpipe – Burton New Zealand Open
• 4th – Slopestyle – Burton New Zealand Open
• 2nd – Halfpipe – Roxy Chicken Jam (USA)
• 3rd – Slopestyle – Roxy Chicken Jam (USA)
• 2nd – Slopestyle – Burton US Open
• 3rd – Halfpipe – Burton US Open
• 1st – Superpipe – World Superpipe Championships
• 1st – Halfpipe – X-Trail Nippon Open
• 1st – Halfpipe – EXPN Winter X Games 11

2006

• 1st – Halfpipe – US Open
• 1st – Superpipe – World Superpipe Championships Park City, Utah.
• 1st – Vans Cup

2005

• 1st – Arctic Challenge, Tromsø, Norway
• 2nd – US Open
• 1st – Nippon Open
• 3rd – FIS World Cup
• 3rd – Slopestyle – Roxy Chicken Jam (USA)
• 30th - 2005 World Championships in Whistler, Canada

2004

• 1st – Half Pipe – FIS World Cup, Turin
• 2nd – World Cup, Whistler, British Columbia
• 2nd – FIS World Cup, Juetsu, Japan
• 3rd – FIS World Cup, Sapporo, Japan
• 2nd – Roxy pro, Les Arc, France

2003

• Runner Up for the World Cup Title - 2003–04 season

See Also

• List of professional snowboarders

External links

• Religion gives Olympian Bright a boost
• Torah Bright wins Women's Halfpipe at 2010 Winter Olympics