Heading into the Sochi Olympics, snowboarder Danny Davis of Highland, Michigan, was one of the favorites to medal in Men’s Snowboarding Half pipe. Half pipe is an Olympic sport where snowboarders glide up and down a 22 foot tall U-shaped half pipe and are judged on height and trick complexity. Davis landed a solid run in qualification, allowing him to skip semifinals and move straight into finals. Davis’ first run was moving along strong after landing six separate effective tricks. Toward the end of the run, before his last move, he caught an edge of his board and cartwheeled forward into the snow.
Davis put down another strong run, but ended his chance at an Olympic medal due to the fall. He would have finished in tenth place. Teammate Shaun White, the two-time leading Olympic Gold medalist, finished in fourth place.
After his final run, Davis cracked a smile and said, “Sorry America.” He entered the Olympics as a medal favorite and faced disappointment of not winning, but he was still relaxed and kind to everyone. After everything he had gone through, Davis left the Olympics empty handed but still had a positive attitude.
Another snowboarder from Michigan is 19-year-old Karly Shorr. She competed in a slope style, which snowboarders head down a snowy hill covered in rails and jumps and are judged on the style of difficulty. After a strong qualification run, Shorr advanced directly to the finals and was one of only two American women finalists. Shorr started her first Olympic final with a smile and wave.
After her first run, Shorr stood in tenth place. Her second run was smooth, though the judged scored her at 76 points out of 100. She finished three sports from the Olympic medal in 6th place.
Regardless of the outcome, making it to the Olympics was a great accomplishment for both Davis and Shorr.