PARK CITY — U.S. women had a tough time Thursday morning in the qualifying round the Olympic snowboarding parallel giant slalom.
Only Lisa Kosglow made it to the 16-woman head-to-head elimination round Friday. She will face Katharina Himmler of Germany in the first heat.
"I'm psyched," said Kosglow, who is injury free for the first time in several season.
Meanwhile, Rosey Fletcher, the top American medal hopeful, was in tears. She skidded wide around a turn near the top of the course and ended riding around the next turn backwards, costing her precious time. She ended up in 26th place and will not advance.
Sondra Van Ert, the oldest competitor in the field at age 37, finished 17th, just .09 seconds out of finals.
Three Frenchwoman, including 1998 gold medalist Karine Ruby, were among the top five qualifiers.
The men's qualification round is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.