Winter Olympics: Brown respectable 15th in halfpipe

New Zealand's Kendall Brown pushed through the pain of a dislocated shoulder to finish 15th in the women's halfpipe in Vancouver yesterday making her New Zealand's top performer so far at the Winter Olympic Games.

Brown's shoulder popped out in training just 30 minutes before her first run at Cypress Mountain.

Coach Tom Willmott credited the 20-year-old with impressive mental and physical strength.

"To come back from an injury that would have put most people out of competition was tough. She dealt with the pressure- it rolled off her like water off a duck's back," he said.

Brown popped her shoulder back in herself mid-run.

It was later strapped by New Zealand physiotherapist Sheryl Dickenson.

Brown was delighted with her performance.

"I'm stoked. It was fun to ride on the pipe today and it was in amazing condition - they'd kept it really good for us," she said.

"I landed a good clean first run but just missed a big trick on my second.

"My shoulder was sore and aching but painkillers kept it pretty much under control."

An ecstatic Brown was on a high after a run that scored her 29.7 points to become one of 18 athletes to go on.

She qualified 10th of 12 to the semifinals while the top six competitors, headed by American Torah Bright, went directly through to the final.

In the semifinal, Brown produced scores of 33.3 and 28.2, which was good enough for ninth out of 12.

Willmott said Brown had followed a plan superbly.

"She'd gone for a clean run with plenty of amplitude on her first run. She then went for broke on her second knowing she needed to increase her score. She sketched on her second to last landing and didn't quite pull off the 720 she'd hoped for."

At her second Olympics after the 2006 Games in Torino, Italy, where she was 24th, Brown was still in awe as she prepared for her first run.

"Vancouver is just that much bigger and more impressive," she said.

She is looking towards a strong future in snowboarding.

"I'm going to focus on getting my shoulder fixed and then will be looking to conquer Russia [Olympic Games 2014]."

Two other New Zealanders failed to advance through qualifying.

Rebecca Sinclair, 19, was 21st and New Zealand team flagbearer Julianne Bray was 24th in the 30-strong field.

Sinclair was delighted with her performance in the second run, which saw her successfully land a difficult trick.

"I'm stoked to land a clean run. The crippler was the main thing I wanted and I did it," she said.

Bray, 34, was devastated to be knocked out following two hard crashes in the pipe.

"I crashed on both runs," she said.

"Who knows where I would have ended up if I hadn't. I was riding really well and in a good mental space. I was one of the last riders and the halfpipe was rough and I caught an edge.

"The pipe was also over vert which is not the best for me."

- NZPA