American snowboarder Kelly Clark has won the women's half-pipe event to give the United States its first Olympic gold at the Salt Lake City Winter Games.
The mention of Clark's name was enough to push the thousands who waited in the cold at Olympic Medals Park into a frenzy of yelling and applause.
When she finally took the stage along with silver medallist Doriane Vidal of France and Fabienne Reuteler of Switzerland, the roars of approval echoed through the night.
The 18-year-old seemed slightly overwhelmed as she took in the crowd's applause and looked more comfortable when the silver and bronze medallists joined her on the top step of the winners' platform.
After the gold medal was safely around Clark's neck and a bouquet of celebratory yellow roses in her hand, the crowd whipped out hundreds of US flags.
The other three gold medal winners of the evening were speedskater Claudia Pechstein of Germany; Samppa Lajunen of Finland, who won the individual 15km Nordic combined; and downhill skier Fritz Strobl of Austria.