Distraught O’Brien apologizes for 12th-place finish
Abroken Spencer O’Brien, her head bowed, marched past Canadian reporters Sunday in the media mix zone at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.
Distraught over her 12th-place finish in the women’s slopestyle snowboard competition, O’Brien sought out her mom and tried to pull herself together in the aftermath of unspeakable devastation. Composed for a brief moment, the 26-yearold bravely walked toward the Canadian press contingent again, but retreated upon dissolving in tears.
Finally, some 30 minutes after her second and final run, the red-headed snowboarder from Courtenay, B.C., choked out a few tortured words.
“Sorry,” she gulped, tears rolling down her freckled cheeks as she tried, in vain, to stifle involuntary sobs. “I’m really disappointed. I’m really sad I let Canada down.”
Simultaneously, some 40 kilometres away at the Main Press Centre by the coast, Canada’s freestyle royalty — the Dufour-Lapointes — conducted a celebratory news conference after Justine, 19, and Chloe, 22, won gold and silver in moguls Saturday night under the lights at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.
The two young women basked in the glory of the Olympics at the precise moment another Canadian wept over the devastation of failing to bring it on the day that mattered most.
Talk about a poignant display of the extremes in Olympic victory and defeat.
Regina’s Mark McMorris won bronze Saturday in the men’s event, but otherwise Canada failed to live up to the expectations of a talented snowboard slopestyle team blessed with the likes of O’Brien, Max Parrot and Sebastien Toutant.
“I had a really hard year coming back from some injuries,” O’Brien said, pulling a wayward braid back from her face. “I was really happy to be riding the way I was here, and just really, really excited to be a part of Team Canada.
“After watching Mark (on Saturday), I was just inspired to try really hard and bring home a medal. I went for my hardest run, and it didn’t work out.”
O’Brien woke up Sunday morning as a legitimate medal hope, but botched the landings on both of her runs to finish 12th in the 12-woman final.
Thus, the tearful apology, with O’Brien sounding a lot like Mellisa Hollingsworth after she finished fifth in skeleton at the Vancouver Olympics.
“These guys are amazingly strong,” freestyle head coach Leo Addington said. “They take strength out of wins and they take strength out of losses. She’ll refocus and remember why she snowboards — because it’s fun — and she’ll get back on the course for sure.”
“I’m really sad I let Canada down.”
SPENCER O’BRIEN
Snowboarder