Flying Tomato finishes first in prelims of first Olympic qualifier

White gets it right in halfpipe qualifying

COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. — Defending Olympic gold medalist Shaun White has placed first in qualifying at the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix, the first of five halfpipe events that will determine America’s 2010 Olympic team.

White finished on top of Friday’s prelims and was followed by Louie Vito, who won the Grand Prix series title last year, but has become better known recently thanks to his appearance on “Dancing with the Stars.”

Dustin Craven of Canada finished fifth and was the only non-American to place in the top eight and reach Saturday’s finals.

Gretchen Bleiler and Kelly Clark finished 1-2 in the women’s qualifying Thursday and will also be in the finals Saturday.