By USSA

MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN -– Veteran rider Danny Davis (Truckee) pulled out a clutch victory in the third halfpipe snowboarding Olympic qualifier Friday at the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain. His victory in the progressive, high-scoring qualifier resurrected his Olympic chances and put him in a position to meet qualification criteria with a second place or better in the fourth qualifier.

Defending Olympic Champion Shaun White, who rides for Northstar, did not start the competition after he took a hard fall in Thursday’s first slopestyle qualifier.

Kelly Clark (West Dover, Vt.) won for the women after clinching her Olympic team spot at the Copper Grand Prix in December.

Rookie Taylor Gold (Steamboat Springs, CO) finished second, also putting him in great position to clinch a spot on the Olympic team with a podium in the fourth qualifier later in the day Friday.

Matt Ladley (Steamboat Springs, CO) took third with Louie Vito (Sandy, UT) fourth and rookie Ben Ferguson (Bend, OR) fifth.

Defending Olympic Champion Shaun White (Carlsbad, CA) did not start the competition after he took a hard fall in Thursday’s first slopestyle qualifier.

Kelly Clark (West Dover, VT) won for the women after clinching her Olympic team spot at the Copper Grand Prix in December.

Rookie Chloe Kim (La Palma) slid into second place, while Hannah Teter (South Lake Tahoe) took third and Kaitlyn Farrington (Bellevue, Idaho) fourth. Chloe Kim, 13, is not Olympic eligible.