REVIEW-Olympics-Snowboarding-Shredders put on 'sick show' on the biggest stage

By Nick Mulvenney ROSA KHUTOR, Russia, Feb 24 (Reuters) - There were safety fears, minor judging concerns and the two-pronged failure of the sport's biggest name but snowboarders talk a lot about putting on a great "show" and they let nobody down at the Sochi Olympics. Shaun White's enshrinement in the pantheon of Winter Olympic greats was supposed to be the centrepiece of the sport's fifth appearance at the top table but even when he failed to win a third successive halfpipe gold having pulled out of the slopestyle, there was no stopping this party. Loved by sponsors, broadcasters and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) alike for enabling them to tap into a younger demographic, the boarders brought an attitude of unrelenting positivity and a whole new lexicon to Rosa Khutor's Extreme Park. The "shredders" said it was "sick" to be at the Games, were "pumped" when they pulled off their best routines, "stoked" when they won medals and "bummed" when they fell short but united in how "awesome" the whole thing was. There was plenty of love at Extreme Park too, perhaps summed up best by defending champion Torah Bright after questionable judging left her with a silver medal in the women's halfpipe. "It's just about the sport of snowboarding and putting on a good show," said the Australian, who entered an unprecedented three snowboarding events in Sochi. "Win, lose or draw, it doesn't really matter the colour of the medal, we're here united as shredding babes." The men's slopestyle - one of four new snowboard events introduced for Sochi - set the tone on the first morning of action, helping to blow away the clouds of negativity that had surrounded Russia's first Winter Games. The fans in the stands jigged to pumping rock music as the boarders performed their mind-boggling tricks on rails and over jumps against a backdrop of snowcapped Caucasus mountains and the brightest of blue skies. Sage Kotsenburg emerged as champion as the judges went for style over technical difficulty but there was not a word of complaint about the popular American's surprise success. White had pulled out of the event over concerns that the "intimidating" course might jeopardise his title defence in halfpipe, prompting accusations from some rivals that he was scared. "People were saying it was dangerous and deeming it unsafe and they hadn't even stepped two feet on the course. I kind of tried to squash that," said Kotsenburg. "Shaun dropping out definitely sucked... I wish he was in it so I could have a shot at him. He is the face of snowboarding but there are definitely other guys out there besides him." The Americans took the first women's slopestyle title too, through self-confessed hippy Jamie Anderson, while Jenny Jones finished third to give Britain its first-ever Olympic medal on snow. White was an odds-on favourite to give the United States a third gold on the fourth day of competition but ended up without a medal on a dramatic night under the lights. Instead, it was Russian-born Iouri "I-Pod" Podladtchikov who delighted the crowds by nailing the run of a lifetime to win halfpipe gold for Switzerland. White said he would probably be back in South Korea in 2018 and the third American success was not long in coming with Idaho cowgirl Kaitlyn Farrington stunning three former champions to win the women's halfpipe. While the first week was all about tricks and derring-do, the second week was more about pace and aggression as the cross and slalom events took centre stage. Czech Eva Samkova, sporting a red, white and blue moustache drawn on her top lip for luck, avoided the rough and tumble of the pack simply by getting out front early and took the women's cross gold. In the men's competition, delayed for 24 hours by fog, Frenchman Pierre Vaultier manfully brushed aside a ruptured cruciate ligament in his knee to win a thrilling final duel with Russian Nikolay Olyunin. Host nation disappointment over Olyunin's defeat was quickly forgotten when American-born Vic Wild won the men's parallel giant slalom gold, moments after his wife Alena Zavarzina had won bronze in the women's event. Wild got some stick in the Twittersphere about his defection - which came about in 2011 after he married Zavarzina - but if it bothered him, he did not show it as he added another gold three days later in the parallel slalom. The Swiss had taken a second gold when Patrizia Kummer won the parallel giant slalom gold and a strong Austrian team finally won their first title on the final day of action at Extreme Park through Julia Dujmovits in the slalom event. (Editing by Mitch Phillips)