BRONZE BOMBER

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — An Olympic medal could soon be coming to a town near you.

Seabrook native Scotty Lago, 22-year-old professional snowboarder, will return from his first Olympic Games with a bronze medal. Lago captured third place in the men's halfpipe last evening, finishing behind fellow American Shaun White, who also won gold in 2006, and Finland's Peetu Piiroinen.

As has been the case throughout his career, Lago had a flair for the dramatic, taking the difficult route to his Olympic medal. He was ranked ninth after both the qualifying and semifinal rounds, and was not one of the six participants to earn an automatic bye to the finals with a top-six finish in the qualifying round. Instead, Lago needed four runs to reach the finals — as opposed to White and Piiroinen's two — and he saved his best for the opening run of the finals, when his score of 42.8 positioned him in first place until the final rider, White, trumped his score with a 46.8. Piiroinen, who was in fourth after the opening run, scored a 45.0 two spots before Lago's second run. In Lago's final attempt to improve his medal standing, knowing he could finish no worse than third, he fell and received a score of 17.5. White closed the competition with the day's best score, a 48.4.

Lago, who owns a house in Hampton Falls and learned to snowboard at Amesbury Sports Park, also took the path less traveled to earn his spot on the Olympic team. The four spots for the U.S. team were earned through a series of five Olympic qualifying events earlier this winter. After three events, Lago was ranked sixth and needed a standout performance on the final weekend of qualifying at Park City, Utah, on Jan. 22 and 23. With his back to the wall, he placed second behind White in both of the final qualifiers to earn a spot on the team.

Historically, Americans have dominated the halfpipe since its inception as an Olympic sport in 1998. Americans swept the medals in 2002 and placed first and second in 2006. Prior to leaving for Vancouver, Lago spoke of his desire to continue the U.S. tradition.

"When you earn a spot on the halfpipe team, it's understood that just competing in the Olympics isn't enough," Lago said. "They expect you to win medals."

Seabrook resident Eric Hazell hosted an Olympic viewing party in honor of Lago last evening at the Common Island Cafe in Seabrook. More than 100 people visited the cafe throughout the day, but fewer than 60 remained for Lago's final performance, which concluded at 11:10 p.m. Hazell did not actually watch the television during Lago's run out of superstition.

"He always does well when I'm not watching," Hazell said. "This is so much bigger than anything he's ever done. It's his dream. This is what he has put all of his energy into for his entire life. The town got behind him, and he realized what he set out to do."

Justin Braley, who grew up down the street from Lago, stayed at the Common Island Cafe until the finish of last night's event.

"He was incredible," Braley said. "As an American, I'm proud. As a member of the town of Seabrook, I'm even prouder. As one of his fans, I'm stoked."

Lago's other American teammates Louie Vito, 21, and Greg Bretz, 19, placed fifth and 12th, respectively.

Staff writer John Shimer contributed to this report.