Olympics: Clark wins first American gold

Snowboarder Kelly Clark won America's first gold medal of the Winter Olympics with a high-flying performance on the halfpipe.

With the song "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns and Roses blaring in the background, the 18-year-old junior world champion flew higher and landed more dangerous jumps than anyone in the field.

Clark's score of 47.9 easily beat Doriane Vidal of France, who scored a 43.0. Fabienne Reuteler of Switzerland won the bronze.

Clark had won medals in three of her first four World Cup events this season but had never triumphed on a stage as big as this.

Before her second run - the one that gave her the gold - she stood at the top of the halfpipe, and pumped a fist before she began.

She won the event with a manoeuvre called a McTwist, a 540-degree inverted spin, then followed with a 720-degree jump at the bottom.

Before that, she jumped higher above the lip of the halfpipe than any of her competitors. It's called amplitude, which carries extra weight in the world of Olympic judging, and Clark was up to the task.

After her score was announced, Clark jumped into the arms of her coach, then scaled one of the restraining fences to celebrate with supporters.