Sunday, February 10, 2002
Zurek misses snowboard finals after disappointing finish
By CHRIS STEVENSON -- SLAM! Sports
PARK CITY, Utah - Her words said one thing, but her eyes didn't lie.
Snowboarder Natasza Zurek of Vancouver admitted she was disappointed at not making the final of the women's halfpipe Sunday after a spectacular faceplant on her second qualifying run left her out in the cold.
But, with a true snowboarders's 'tude, the 23-year-old made it clear the Olympics are not the pinnacle of her world.
She said she was disappointed at not making the final because it meant her day was over and she wouldn't get to ride anymore.
"There are more important things in snowboarding than the Olympics," said Zurek, who finished 10th in the first qualifying run, ninth in the second qualifying ride and 15th overall in the field of 24 riders. The top six from each qualifying run advanced to the final.
"I'd say it's the fifth-most important thing. The first most-important thing is having fun with your friends. Then I'd say it's progressing your level of riding. Then it would be winning the U.S. Open and then doing video and photo shoots. The fifth thing would be owning an Audi Quattro."
Zurek's attitude isn't surprising. Snowboarders the wild children in the button down world of the Olympic family. In the beautful sunshine Sunday, Motown sounds and rock'n'roll tunes pounded out a heavy backbeat while the riders competed, proving they do march to their own drummer.
Black Sabbath's mostly, though there was some Beatles and Ringo Starr in there, too.
Zurek's eyes certainly seemed to tell another story.
When she pulled off her goggles, she looked briefly to the crystal blue skies over the Park City Mountain Resort and rubbed her hands over her cheeks. When she spoke to reporters later, the tears in her eyes were still showing her disappointment.
Zurek, who's won the last U.S. Opens and was being touted as a medal contender, finished 10th in the first ride with 30 points. She needed to finish in the top six in the second run and things were going fine until she attempted a backside 540 (one-and-a-half spins) near the end of the ride. She came down on the lip of the halfpipe and was vaulted face-first down to the flat.
"That's what you call a disaster," boomed the voice of the commentator to the crowd of 16,000. "That will put you right over the handlebars."
Zurek wound up with 28.6 points for the second run, not enough to join the final 12.
"I don't know what happened," she said. "It happened too fast. I fell. That's about all I know...I didn't commit to it the right way."
The daughter of a Polish defector, Zurek came to Canada at age 3. Her mother was a ski rescue guide in Zakopane, a Polish ski resort. Zurek began skiing at age 2 and switched to snowboarding when she was 14.
She won the first competition she entered in Whistler, B.C., in 1996 and finished second at the ISF world championships in Japan. She was eighth in the halfpipe at the 1997 worlds and 38th in 2001. She's been plagued by knee problems the last couple of years after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in 1993.
"She'll bounce back," said coach Tom Hutchison. "She had knee surgery in the summer and she's just getting back to where she wants to be. She just missed one trick. She was going great. She could have started (the trick) early, I don't know. These things happen."
Several snowboarding publications had picked Zurek to be a force here because of reputation as the one of the few women capable of throwing back-to-back inverted airs. She won the FIS World Cup event on the superpipe here last March, throwing down an incredible score of 46.2 on her first run, which might have added to the expectations going into Sunday's event.
"I didn't care about winning the last time," she said. "This is a new day. Everyone got a fresh start."
Zurek will likely get over her disappointment by riding. It's her refuge, she said.
"It's where I fit in," she said. "You don't have to be talking or interacting with people. You're just doing it for yourself."
2002 Games Snowboarding Coverage
