CYPRESS, British Columbia — Growing up snowboarding with her Cottonwood Heights friends, Faye Gulini didn't really know where her talent would take her.
That's why she just wanted to enjoy what was an unexpected Olympic ride in Snowboard Cross at Cypress Mountain Tuesday.
"Just to be here was good for me," said the 17-year-old who burst onto the international Snowboard Cross scene as soon as she was allowed to compete at 15. "I had no expectations."
So while it was disappointing not to make it past the quarterfinals, she is savoring every moment of her Olympic experience.
"It's unreal," she said. "Definitely something I didn't expect to experience, especially this young. So maybe I have a couple more in me."
Gulini actually qualified in 12th position but was eliminated in the quarterfinals. She was 12th overall.
Canada won it's second Gold medal of the games when Maelle Ricker won the women's snowboard cross Tuesday at Cypress Mountain. Interestingly, both of Canada's gold medals have come at the Vancouver Olympics' most troublesome site. Officials announced Tuesday morning that they have to cancel another 20,000 general admission tickets for popular sports like Snowboard half-pipe and Ski Cross. (See related story) That makes more than 28,000 people who've had their tickets to the 2010 Games cancelled.
Gulini said several members of her family had those standing area tickets, but they were able to find other tickets to get them to the race.
While the hometown crowd was thrilled with Ricker's win, she didn't earn the prize easily as the women struggled with fog and slushy conditions all day
"I am so overwhelmed," said Ricker, whose victory prompted chants of Ca-na-da!. "I can't believe it the way my day started."
The day started with a two-hour delay as officials waited for heavy fog to clear out. The fog rolled in and out during the women's qualifying runs, making the runs even more unpredictable at times than the slushy snow.
"It was foggy and the snow was so unpredictable," said Gulini. "But that's where the best riders are going to stand out...We all had to ride the same course."
The top U.S. finisher, Lindsey Jacobellis, won the small final, a kind of consolation race, to claim fifth place.
"I feel okay," she said, visibly disappointed. "Although, sometimes you can't control the things you want to...I have had a great career in board cross."
She agreed with her American teammate that the visibility was the biggest issue.
"The visual aspect was a little rough," she said. "Sometimes you could see a jump and sometimes you couldn't, even with all the paint the crew laid down ... It felt pretty good when I was out there alone (qualifying), but when you throw three other people in the mix, it gets a little crazy."
While Jacobellis made no predictions about whether or not she'd be back for another Olympic Games, Gulini certainly hoped to return.
From her competition to the Opening Ceremonies, it was everything she dreamed it would be.
"It was a lot of fun," she said. "I was sweating so bad when we were waiting to walk in, but then, to just walk in with all the other U.S. athletes and everyone was cheering for us, it was amazing."
Gulini is enjoying her first Olympics so much, she doesn't want to leave on her scheduled flight, Feb. 19.
"If I can find housing, I want to stay and watch all the other events," Gulini said.
e-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com