Torah Bright

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Torah Bright
Torah Bright in Nicole Miller at Heart Truth 2013 NY.jpg
Bright modelling in the 2013 The Heart Truth show in New York City
Personal information
Full name Torah Jane Bright
Born (1986-12-27) 27 December 1986 (age 38)
Cooma, New South Wales
Height 5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
Sport
Country  Australia
Sport Snowboarding
Coached by Ben Bright[1]
Medal record
Women's snowboarding
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Vancouver Halfpipe
Silver medal – second place 2014 Sochi Halfpipe
Winter X Games
Gold medal – first place 2007 Aspen Superpipe
Gold medal – first place 2009 Aspen Superpipe
Silver medal – second place 2006 Aspen Superpipe
Silver medal – second place 2008 Aspen Superpipe
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Aspen Superpipe
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Stoneham Slopestyle

Torah Jane Bright (born 27 December 1986) is an Australian professional snowboarder. She is an Olympic gold and silver medalist. In 2013 she won a bronze medal at the FIS Snowboarding World Championships. She lives and trains in the area of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Early life

Bright was born in Cooma, New South Wales on 27 December 1986, to parents Peter and Marion Bright; she is the fourth of five siblings, and is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[2] Her parents named her "Torah" after her sister Rowena learned from her Jewish piano teacher that the name referred to the Jewish name for the Five books of Moses and meant "bearer of a great spiritual message" and suggested the name for her new sister.[2][3][4]

Bright grew up in Cooma, New South Wales and attended Cooma North Public School at the base of the Snowy Mountains. She started out as a downhill ski racer.[5][6]

Bright's brother, Ben, is also a professional snowboarder and remains her coach. Her older sister, Rowena, competed in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics in alpine skiing.

Career

Bright uses a goofy stance.

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 three 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.[7]

File:Torah Bright.jpg
Bright during the 2010 Winter Olympics

In 2010, at the Winter Olympics at Vancouver, Bright was chosen to carry the flag for Australia at the opening ceremonies,[8] and qualified for the no. 1 spot for the final of the women's halfpipe, 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.

In 2013 at the Winter X Games XVII in Aspen, Colorado, Bright came in fourth in the superpipe behind medalists Kelly Clark, Elena Hight, and Arielle Gold.[9][10]

In 2014 at the Winter Olympics at Sochi, having entered an unprecedented triple of slopestyle, halfpipe, and boarder-cross, Bright finished 7th in the inaugural women's slopestyle final and went on to win silver with a score of 91.50 in the women's halfpipe. This was Australia's first medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics. The medal also saw Bright surpass Alisa Camplin to become Australia's most successful Winter Olympics athlete.[11]

Bright was a participant in the fourteenth season of Dancing with the Stars.[12]

Endorsements

Bright has a lifelong sponsorship with Rhythm Snowsports, located in her home town Cooma. She also has a head-to-toe sponsorship with Roxy, the female-specific brand of action-sports company Quiksilver. For the 2008–09 season, 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.[13] Her other sponsors include Subway and Boost Mobile.

Competition results

2014

2013

2010

2009

2008

2007

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

2006

  • 1st – Half-pipe – US Open
  • 1st – Super-pipe – World Super-pipe Championships Park City, Utah.
  • 1st – Vans Cup

2005

  • 1st – Arctic Challenge, Tromsø, Norway
  • 2nd – US Open
  • 1st – Nippon Open
  • 3rd – FIS World Cup
  • 3rd – Slope-style – 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

Personal life

Bright is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has said, "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."[6]

Bright was married to American pro snowboarder Jake Welch from 2010 to 2013.[25]

See also

References

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  7. ↑ Torah Bright Discusses 2009 Roxy Snow Line Archived 26 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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