Torah Bright

Torah (Jane) Bright (born December 27 1986, Cooma, Australia) is an Australian snowboarder. She turned pro at age 14 and finished fifth in snowboarding for Australia at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. She is a committed Mormon and trains in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Career

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 two 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 (clothing) Chicken Jam, the final event in the TTR (Ticket to Ride) Snowboard Tour, where she became the 2007 TTR world champion. [ [http://www.shredbetties.com/features/style/roxy2009/index.shtml Torah Bright Discusses 2009 Roxy Snow Line] ]

Bright is on the snowboarding team Roxy, the female-specific brand of Australian surfing company Quiksilver. For the 2008-2009 season, in 2008, Torah 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. [ [http://www.ttrworldtour.com/362.0.html Torah's official TTR profile] ] Her other sponsors include Salomon and Boost Mobile.

Competition Results

2008
*1st-Superpipe-World Superpipe Championships-Park City, UT. Pipe cut by Tyson Goodrich (T-Bag)
*2nd - Superpipe - EXPN Winter X Games 12 (Aspen, CO)
*1st- Superpipe- Nippon Open Japan
*1st- Superpipe- Burton US Open, Vermont
*Burton Global Open Champion2007
*Burton Global Open Champion
*TTR World Snowboard Tour Champion 0607
*1st - Halfpipe - Burton New Zealand Open
*4th - Slopestyle - Burton New Zealand Open
*2nd - Halfpipe - Roxy Chicken Jam (USA)
*3rd - Slopestyle - Roxy Chicken Jam (USA)
*2nd - Slopestyle - Burton US Open
*3rd - Halfpipe - Burton US Open
*1st - Superpipe - World Superpipe Championships
*1st - Halfpipe - X-Trail Nippon Open
*1st - Halfpipe - EXPN Winter X Games 11

2006
*1st - Halfpipe - Us Open
*1st - Superpipe - World Superpipe Championships Park City, UT. Pipe cut by Tyson Goodrich (T-Bag)
*1st - Vans Cup

2005
*1st - Arctic Challenge, Tromso, Norway
*2nd - US Open
*1st - Nippon Open
*3rd - FIS World Cup
*3rd - Slopestyle - Roxy Chicken Jam (USA)

2004
*1st - Half Pipe - FIS World Cup, Turin
*2nd - World Cup, Whistler
*2nd - FIS World Cup, Juetsu, Japan
*3rd - FIS World Cup, Sapporo, Japan
*2nd - Roxy pro, Les Arc, France

Trivia

*Stance: Goofy
*She is coached by her older brother, Ben Bright.
*Torah's older sister Rowena Bright competed in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
*Torah is an incredibly fast runner
*She is an exceptional basketball player and has been seen slam dunking over friends at the local gym.
*She is enjoys rollerblading in the park on occasion.
*Torah Jane Bright has recently had a growing interest in the auto racing world. She plans on getting a car and racing it at the local track.
*Torah is considering opening a floral shop down the street from her home.

Early life

Born to parents Peter and Marion Bright, Torah Jane is the second youngest in the family of five siblings. She grew up in Cooma, Australia, at the base of the Snowy Mountains, and initially started out as a downhill ski racer. Older brother Ben picked up snowboarding and passed it on to Torah; as she has said, "I never looked back."

References

External links

* [http://telluride.plumtv.com/videos/plum_talks_torah_bright Plum TV Telluride Talks to Snowboarder Torah Bright]
* [http://www.torahbright.com Torah's official homepage - under construction]
* [http://www.theage.com.au/news/Sport/Religion-gives-Olympian-Bright-a-boost/2006/02/03/1138836393553.html Religion gives Olympian Bright a boost]
* [http://www.shredbetties.com/slideshows/rcj07/bright/chickenjam_bright.shtml 2007 Roxy Chicken Jam footage of Torah Bright]
* [http://www.roxyteam.com/members/TBright/home.aspx Roxy Team Profile - Torah Bright]
* [http://www.nollie.tv/2007/03/torah_bright_wi.html Torah Bright Wins TTR at Roxy Chicken Jam]
* [http://methodmag.com/169.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=3433&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=112&cHash=e57f83ed1b Interview with Torah Bright]