Lake Tahoe skier earns Olympic berth

Freestyle skier Shannon Bahrke picked an ideal time to earn her first moguls singles victory beyond Nor Am competition.

The 21-year-old woman from Tahoe City won the U.S. Ski Team Gold Cup Dec. 31 at Deer Valley, Utah. Bahrke's reward was an automatic berth in the Olympics and $10,000.

"I'm going to the Olympics, that's the craziest thing," Bahrke screamed into the phone, hours after qualifying on the Olympic course. "Ten thousand dollars is nothing compared to a spot in the Olympics."

Bahrke became the first Lake Tahoe skier and second athlete overall to qualify for the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. Snowboarder Shannon Dunn, a part-time resident of Carnelian Bay, recently qualified by winning a pair of halfpipe events at Mammoth Mountain.

Only .12 of a point separated first through third places. After qualifying third during her first run, Bahrke executed heli and heli cross jumps during her final run for a score of 25.38.

She then anxiously waited at the finish area to see if Olympic veteran Ann Battelle of Louisville, Colo., or Hannah Hardaway of Castle Rock, Colo., could overtake her.

"It was a little nerve-wracking," Bahrke said. "I was surprised I came in front of Ann, and Hannah was supposed to do a double-twister spread on the bottom (jump) and she only did a double twister."

Bahrke's triumph was unexpected considering the way she opened the season, finishing no better than 20th in the season's first two World Cup events. However, she regained her form in the 2001 U.S. duals champion winning a pair of Nor Am events prior to the Gold Cup.

"I had a little problem getting my momentum started this year," she said. "I was thinking I was skiing pretty well, but I realized I just had to take it up a few notches."

Returning to compete in Deer Valley also helped Bahrke rediscover the type of skiing that led to her six top-10 World Cup finishes last season.

"I love skiing on this course," Bahrke said. "I love the pitch, the way the crowds are on the bottom, the distance between the moguls and the length of the course plays in my favor as well."

In her two previous visits to Deer Valley, Bahrke finished fourth in two separate events.

Bahrke already has plans on how she will spend the biggest payday of her career.

"My boyfriend (Geoff Lewis) and I need furniture for our house and I want to set some aside for my cousins (Jeff, Chris and Brett Bahrke) so that they will always be able to compete in freestyle events and have ski passes," she said.