Comeback queen Bright eyes fourth Winter Games

IN a huge boost for the Australian team, snowboarder Torah Bright has confirmed she is eyeing off a fourth Winter Olympics after a low-key return to the sport.

While most eyes focused on the half-pipe World Cup event at the weekend in Colorado, the two-time Olympic medallist quietly readied herself for two second-tier events at the same Copper Mountain venue.

And her results were impressive, given she had rarely competed since 2014.

The 30-year-old won the opening event and was second on day two, admittedly in a field that didn’t feature the top riders she would be likely to face at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

Bright had dodged questions this year about competing in South Korea, and had even left the Australian Olympic Committee in the dark about her plans.

But she recently made clear her desire to qualify for the Games with Ski and Snowboard Australia.

Bright competed at Turin in 2006, won gold in the half-pipe at Vancouver in 2010 and backed that up with silver in Sochi, where she also took part in slopestyle and snowboard cross.

She will need to compete at a World Cup level and earn points to ensure she makes the field for the Winter Olympics, which start on February 9.

Meanwhile, Australians occupy the top two spots in men’s snowboard cross world rankings after Adam Lambert’s silver medal at the World Cup event in Val Thorens, France.

Lambert, 20, has emerged as a potential medal prospect for the Winter Olympics after reaching the podium for the first time, thanks to a series of astute tactical races. He takes the world No. 2 ranking after three events this season, behind fellow Aussie and twotime world champion Alex Pullin, who collected two gold medals in Cerro Catedral, Argentina.

On a tricky course high in the French Alps yesterday, Lambert rode out the final smoothly to finish just behind Germany’s Paul Berg with Spain’s Lucas Eguibar third.

Pullin finished sixth.