Rosey Fletcher surprise bronze-medal winner

The American followed Swiss Daniela Meuli and German Amelie Kober on the podium.
BARDONECCHIA, Italy (AP) -- Rosey Fletcher finally saw the big picture, then posted her first big-time Olympic result.
"It's just snowboarding," the surprise American bronze medalist said Thursday after joining Swiss juggernaut Daniela Meuli and young German talent Amelie Kober on the podium. "I was really focusing not so much on winning ... it was all about the journey and having fun."
As they so often do in this Swiss-dominated era of parallel giant slalom, large clanging cowbells announced the winner.
Meuli, the three-time defending world cup champion, gave her country and its red-clad, raucous, flag-waving fans a second PGS gold in as many days. Philipp Schoch won the men's event Wednesday, with brother Simon winning silver.
Meuli's first gold
Still, as much as she's used to winning, Meuli craved her first Olympic gold, having finished 20th at the 2002 Games.
"Of course I feel the pressure, from myself and also people around," Meuli said. "But I always try to take it positive because I told myself, 'Everybody's believing in you ... what could be better?' It's just great that I did it. In the morning it was really hard because I was nervous."
As it turned out, she didn't have to work as hard for this victory, cruising across the line in the semifinals after Fletcher's fall, then winning the championship heat easily after Kober crashed and slid into the safety fence just as it appeared the German might overtake Meuli.
But she wasn't about to get too fancy -- a la snowboardcross silver medalist Lindsey Jacobellis -- as she safely steered around the final gates.
"I had seen the race of the women's snowboardcross -- I think you all have seen that -- and I said to myself, 'Come on. It's finished when you are over the finish line,' " she said, giggling a bit. "I really tried to stay concentrated until I was in the finish line."
Reaction
Meuli threw her arms skyward just before crossing the line, then collapsed and slid to a stop on her back with her hands on her head.
In the bronze medal race, Fletcher took a 1.5-second lead in the first run after Austrian Doris Guenther went down. Fletcher still needed to make that lead stand up when she switched to the red course, which had been the slower and more treacherous course throughout the event.
Racing cautiously, Fletcher allowed Guenther to make up ground on the top of the course, but then the American put it in overdrive on the bottom and won comfortably.
She came to a stop bent over with emotion, hands over her goggles. Then the hugs started and the tears flowed.
It was a huge victory for the U.S. team, as the 30-year-old Fletcher, in her third Olympics, and 22-year-old Michelle Gorgone were considered long shots to make it to the medal stand.
"Unlike the other two times, I was a dark horse, and I prefer being the dark horse," Fletcher said.
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