updated 10:03 a.m. ET Feb. 14, 2006

BARDONECCHIA, Italy - When it comes to snowboarding, the Olympics are America’s halfpipe and the rest of the world is just shredding in it.

That point was driven home again Monday, when Americans Hannah Teter won gold and Gretchen Bleiler won silver, adding more hardware to the two medals the U.S. men won the day before.

“USA. Representing,” Bleiler said. “We’re doing a good job. That’s about all I can say.”

Were it not for Norway’s Kjersti Buaas throwing the run of her life, the Americans would have earned the sweep they almost had when Shaun White, Danny Kass and Mason Aguirre finished 1-2-4.

But Buaas’ run was worth the bronze and when Kelly Clark, the 2002 Olympic champion, slipped after her final jump — a tough, 900-degree spin — in an attempt to make the medal stand, she wound up 0.9 points short of third.

“All of Europe is depending on me,” Buaas said before taking off for her final run. “I got speed and tried to go big because they have so many tricks and I don’t.”

Indeed, at times, it really does seem unfair — Americans dominating a sport born and raised in their country and constantly refined there, too.

The move from fringe lifestyle sport to mainstream really took off in 2002, when the American men swept the halfpipe medals at the Salt Lake City Games, the first time the United States had done that in any winter sport in 46 years. That brought about a whole new wave of shredders — snowboarding’s classic catch-all metaphor for powering through powder and tearing up halfpipes.

NBC VIDEO U.S. women rule the halfpipe Feb. 14: "Today" host Matt Lauer speaks with U.S. snowboarders Hannah Teter and Gretchen Bleiler, who finished 1-2 in the halfpipe on Monday. Today Show Olympics

“I remember going to get my hair done” a few weeks after the U.S. sweep, Bleiler said. “The 60-year-old women in the salon were in there talking about snowboarding. It’s not a cutthroat sport at all. We’re all cheering each other on. Together, we’re progressing the sport.”

When Clark, Bleiler and Teter finished 1-2-3 in qualifying, it became clear the sweep would be America’s to lose. Clark flew higher than anyone off the halfpipe, while Bleiler’s landings were smoother and Teter’s tricks were more tweaked up than anyone’s.

Riding with the cords from her iPod dangling about, Teter scored a 44.6 on her first run to take the lead, an advantage that none of the other 11 riders could match.

Slide show   Pictures of the Day Check out Sunday's best Olympic images.

It made her second trip, soaring through the pipe and into the sunshine of the Italian Alps, a victory lap — just like White’s the day before. After bouncing up and down and jiggling her legs at the top, she raised her hands, then scored a 46.4 on the strength of a frontside 540 followed by a frontside 900.

“I just kind of felt the same standing up there,” Teter said. “It’s like, ‘Here we go again, another run on the pipe — but at the Olympics.’ I just felt super positive.”

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