Her Olympic dream fulfilled, the Aussie golden girl can now concentrate on her June wedding. Rose Fylder reports.
Snowboard queen Torah Bright stood nervously on the lip of the halfpipe at Vancouver’s Cypress Mountain, searching for one face in the crowd. From the moment she locked eyes with American Jake Welch, her fiancée of six months, the 23-year-old seemed transformed.
Calm and composed, Torah bravely executed a dazzling series of tricks to win gold in the Ladies’ Halfpipe, and a place in the nation’s heart – although hers belongs to Jake, a fellow pro snowboarder and Mormon from Salt Lake City, Utah. “He’s the coolest guy – sweet, kind and gentle. He’s helped me so much.
From the moment we clicked two years ago we’ve been joined at the hip,” beams the golden girl.
“It goes beyond being in love. Being with Jake has balanced me in every way – in my personal life, and when I’m on my snowboard. Things seem to be easier these days,” says Torah, who stands to become Australia’s top-earning female athlete, with her agents predicting she could attract up to $5 million in sponsorship annually.
The win feels all the sweeter given she placed fifth at the 2006 Winter Olympics, despite being a favourite for gold at the time.
“I’ve had to keep busy, biding my time for the last four years,” jokes Torah, who also had to contend with a fractured jaw, concussions and migraines in the lead-up to the Games.
Not that life looks like slowing down because now there’s a June wedding to organise.
“When you find the person you love, you don’t wait,”grins Jake, 23, who met Torah at a soccer game in his hometown, where the Cooma, NSW, girl had moved as a 14-year-old to follow her boarding passion.
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