World’s best snowboarders compete in Utah

The X Games come to Colorado for a week each year while Utah gets the World Superpipe Championships for a day.

Fair trade? Not really. At least Shaun White prefers Utah over Colorado.

"Utah offers so many more opportunities than anywhere else," said White, after he won  gold in the Superpipe Championships. "Nowhere else really compares."

White led a group of the best snowboarders and skiers from around the globe in the 6th annual competition on March 8 in Park City.

White landed back-to-back 1080s and had clean runs all day to win his second title in as many years. "This is so crazy. It feels like déjà vu," said White, who was unsure if he would compete due to an ailing knee.

Torah Bright won her third straight snowboard championship after trading great runs with Kelly Clark. "I’m always nervous when Kelly Clark is competing," Bright said. "It gets harder to win each time because each rider works so hard to improve."

The men’s ski competition finished out the day with serious height and incredible tricks.  Josiah Wells, of Australia, earned first place with a high flying 1260, while Canadian Justin Dorey took second, and Mike Riddle clinched third.

Mason Aguirre and Janne Korpi took second and third in men’s snowboard with Kelly Clark and Soko Yamaoka rounding out the women’s competition. The winner of each competition took home a $15,000 prize with $8,000 going to second place, and $4,000 to third.

Bright’s plans for the future include training for the 2010 Olympics and eventually attending college. "Hopefully I’ll have a husband and kids somewhere down the road." she said.

Shaun White’s goals differ from Bright’s. "I might make one of those Guitar Hero-type games," said the Red Zeppelin. "I’ll call mine Garage Band."

White also plans on getting back at Tony Hawk for giving him the nickname "Flying Tomato."