Brittani Coury of Durango just missed the podium in her first event at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.
After finishing behind the eventual gold and silver medalists in the semifinals, Coury won the small final in the women’s snowboard cross Monday to finish fifth.
The day began with the quarterfinals, with the top two boarders in each heat advancing. Coury finished second in her heat behind Lisa Dejong of Canada to advance to the semifinals.
In the semis, Coury ended up placing third, 1.87 seconds behind winner Cecile Hernandez of France and 0.58 seconds behind Dejong, placing her into the small final.
Coury, however, won the small final to salvage fifth place, beating two boarders from China and one from Canada.
Hernandez won gold. Dejong finished with silver, and American Brenna Huckaby won the bronze.
Coury isn’t finished. She’ll be back on the slopes Friday in the banked slalom competition. Coury is the defending silver medalist in the event from the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.