Portland Press Herald

Cool ease guided Seth Wescott in his stunning charge to gold in the finals of the men's snowboardcross at the Vancouver Olympics.

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It was the ride of his life. He felt pure joy as his snowboard crossed the line first.

"It was just one of those situations that I knew I could ride those terrain features better and carry my speed," Wescott told the Portland Press Herald on Wednesday in a rare moment of downtime since winning the gold medal Monday evening.

"It seemed so easy when I actually went by Mike (Robertson of Canada, the silver medalist). It just seemed that whole straightaway ran so perfectly.

"It was just so cool to be in the moment and feel that ease of executing," he said. "For me, the race was really such a powerful moment."

Wescott said winning an Olympic gold medal for the second time was sweeter than he imagined.

In 2006, he entered the Turin Olympics as the favorite. He was the defending world champion, and had a strong year on the World Cup circuit.

This year, at age 33, he struggled with some painful injuries that affected his World Cup performances. He was considered a contender, but others were favored for the gold.

"It was so incredible in Torino," Wescott said, "but to me, it was amazing to be able to do this a second time."

His voice sounded tired. It rose and fell, sounding as if he hadn't slept in days.

Twenty-four hours after his win, he jumped aboard the medals stand, pumped his fists in the air and sang out the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner."

"Tuesday was superlong. I got literally 45 minutes of sleep before starting into it," he said. "At 3 a.m. I had to go on the 'Today' show. It was such a long day."

Don't misunderstand. He's not complaining. It's the reality of striking back-to-back gold in a sport that is quickly becoming a favorite of the Winter Games.

Heading into this race, Wescott spoke candidly about what he needed the second time around. He was searching for a higher level of motivation -- the kind that only the Olympics can bring. He suspected it would kick in upon arrival.

The weather was lousy for days, however. The conditions -- until race day -- were not conducive to snow sports.

"I just thought we were going to run in a lot worse conditions than we did. We lucked out for our day," he said. "It was the first time in 28 days it even got into freezing temps."

Wescott had a lousy qualifier. He slipped and spun 360 degrees, and after a somewhat better second run, was ranked 17th of 32 riders to start the heats. Whimsical Watch Replica

"I hadn't really realized I was going to feel as much pressure as I did," Wescott said. "Neither of those qualifying heats went the way I would have wanted. I knew I wasn't going to have a good lane choice all day."

With that, he found that extra motivation.

"I remember thinking 'OK, I'm going to have to work so damn hard for this,' " Wescott said. "It was going to be a total battle. I really felt it kick in at that point. The energy was just there."

He made it through the round of 32, quarterfinals, and semifinals -- appearing far more focused.