Torah grew up in her element. Spending her childhood at the base of the Snowy Mountains in Cooma, Australia, her parents put her on skis at the age of two. A bad snow season somehow led her to try snowboarding when she was eleven and she promptly abandoned ski racing and hasn’t looked back.

At the age of 15, Torah charged onto the international snowboard scene when she took second place at the World Snowboarding Championships Big Air. By the end of the 2003/2004 season, she had won the FIS World Cup half pipe finals, making her runner up in the final World Cup standings and earning her a sponsorship with Roxy. With two 2005 World Cup bronzes, she qualified for the 2006 Australian Olympic Team and made her country proud. Unfortunately, she missed the medal podium, placing fifth. But her loss only seems to have made her more determined to attain greatness.

These days, she is known as one of the most dynamic snowboarders in the world. Stomping groundbreaking Halfpipe combos, launching huge off massive kickers and harnessing an ability to remain focused in even the most stressful competition situations, Torah has made a name for herself as the rider to beat in every contest she enters. Although she claims not to be competitive by nature, her long list of results suggests otherwise, rivaling that of Shaun White.

In 06/07 it was Torah’s time to shine and almost every contest she entered she walked away with a podium finish and heaps of points, eventually taking out the TTR World Championship Title. The 07/08 season proved a little tougher for the Aussie shredder with an in-form Jamie Anderson chasing the title, however she still managed score herself a host of 5 and 6Star podium finishes and her overall second place finish confirms that she’ll be in contention this year.

It’s a wonder, coming from Australia, where Torah gets her on snow talent, but snow sports run deep in the Bright family. Torah’s older sister Rowena competed as a ski racer in the 2002 Olympics, and her brother Ben, also a competitive snowboarder, travels with her to every competition, coaching her and pushing her to succeed. Her younger sister Abi is also following in Torah’s footsteps, pursuing a professional snowboarding career.

Torah spends the entire year on the slopes, dividing her time between two hemispheres and two winters in Salt Lake City and her hometown of Cooma. But in the brief time when she’s not on the slopes, you can bet Torah’s having a great time with family and friends, whether it’s pond hockey out back, surfing some waves down under, or bustin’ some moves on the dance floor.