Winter Olympics: Bray just short of final

Wellington snowboarder Juliane Bray missed a place among the top 12 qualifiers in the Winter Olympics halfpipe snowboarding event by only a whisker in Italy earlier today.

Bray, 20, had a disappointing first effort, stumbling near the end of her ride and totalling just 17.1 points to put her well down the 34-strong field.

But with the pressure on she bounced back magnificently in her second ride, scoring 31.8.

It seemed for a long time as if Bray would sneak through to the final 12, but she eventually finished 16th.

The 12th placegetter's score was 34.8 points.

"That second ride was just what I wanted," Bray said.

"I had my fingers crossed that I might make the top 12, and I almost made it. Otherwise I was very happy with my performance."

Bray will now focus on the snowboarder cross event later this week.

The youngest member of the New Zealand team, Kendall Brown, 16, also competed in the halfpipe today, finishing 24th.

The event was won by American Hannah Teter with a score of 46.4 ahead of compatriot Gretchen Bleiler on 43.4 and Norway's Kjersti Buaas on 42.0.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand curling team made an encouraging if unsuccessful start to their Olympic campaign overnight, when they lost a tough first-round match 3-6 against triple world champions Sweden.

After more than holding their own over the first four ends, the New Zealanders came unstuck on the fifth end when they conceded three points.

"There are no weak teams here, but the Swedes are exceptionally strong," New Zealand coach Peter Becker said.

"I thought we hung on well today. Our team kept looking for a chink, but the Swedes didn't give us many chances."

Three New Zealanders, skip Sean Becker, Hans Frauenlob and Dan Mustapic, scored in the high 60s for accuracy, and lead Lorne dePape was outstanding with 94 per cent.

New Zealand's next match is against Great Britain, runners-up at the 2004 world championships, later this morning (NZ time).

- NZPA