PARK CITY — All the Olympic excitement was over before the race even began. What was left was a race.
Jeff Greenwood, who missed making the U.S. Snowboard Team for the 1998 Games, became the first member named for 2002. And he did it on qualifying times, not race results.
Greenwood qualified No. 1 for the second consecutive race in the Paul Mitchell series, and on the strength of that he was named to the Olympic squad.
Lisa Kosglow, who qualified No. 1 for this event but was No. 2 in the first, did not make the team — yet. All she needs to do, she said, is "qualify No. 1 again."
And it was a good thing the two qualified so high. Greenwood was taken out of the snowboard side-by-side event in the opening round.
Kosglow did only slightly better.
The excitement, Greenwood admitted, took something out of him. On his second run he dipped a shoulder, lost balance and fell.
Which is exactly why the Olympic snowboard team is being based on qualifying rather than race results.
In fact, both the men's and women's finals were decided on falls.
Snowboard giant slalom racing took the pro racing format. That is, racers qualify and are then bracketed in pairs, race twice — once on a red course and then on a blue — and the racer with the lowest combined time advances to the next round. Races consist of four rounds, so to win a boarder must race eight times.
In the women's race, Rosey Fletcher, a member of the U.S. training team, beat Doris Krings of Austria by a scant 7-hundredths of a second on the first run but fell on the second to give Krings the title.
In the men's race, Ryan McDonald held a 1.03-second lead over Eric Warren after the first run, but then he fell on his second to give Warren the title. Both snowboarders are members of the U.S. development team.
For Greenwood, being named was especially sweet. Four years ago he was considered one of America's medal hopefuls. He won the opening World Cup race and a few more but came back to qualify and did not make the team.
"It took me two years to get over that. It was disappointing," he said as he slid into the finish after being eliminated, not at all unhappy with his day's performance.
"I was nervous standing in the gate for qualifying. I haven't been that nervous for a long time. But I went over in my mind what I needed to do, and it happened."
The important thing about Friday's race was that it was set on the exact same slope as the Olympic course in February. The only exception is that the Olympic course, said one official, will be a little straighter in spots.
Racers called the course "very technical."
Kosglow, too, talked about the disappointing performance by the U.S. boarding team in 1998, and of the lessons learned.
"We're all four years older and smarter. We learned a lot. Japan was a huge learning experience. All I've been thinking about is preparing for the Olympics," she said.
The best finish in '98 in the snowboard giant slalom was a sixth by Chris Klug. Utah's Sandra Van Ert was 12th.
There are three more races in this series. By the end, the four men and four women who will represent the United States in the Olympic run will be finalized.
E-mail: grass@desnews.com