Bright’s Winter Games bid bleak

TORAH Bright’s hopes of qualifying for next month’s Winter Olympics are slim after the snowboarding great fell short of the required World Cup top-10 finish at a meet in the US.

The Australian Olympic gold and silver medallist finished 15th in the preliminary stage of the half-pipe event in Snowmass, Colorado, to miss the eight-person final.

The 31-year-old, who has seldom competed since the 2014 Sochi Olympics, must now rely on a top-10 result at the World Cup event in Switzerland next week for the chance to compete in PyeongChang.

But her participation at a fourth Olympics in South Korea still won’t be guaranteed, with compatriots Emily Arthur and Holly Crawford in the running for Australia’s two berths.

In the men’s competition, Australian world champion Scotty James qualified fourth for the 10-person final, where he will meet an in-form Shaun White as the American legend warms up for a crack at a third Olympic gold medal.

James and White will be among the favourites for PyeongChang, with the latter topping qualification with a score of 95.

Also at Snowmass, Australia’s Tess Coady qualified sixth for the snowboard slopestyle final.