Shannon Bahrke (right) celebrates her bronze medal with gold medalist Hannah Kearney of the United States (center) and Jennifer Heil of Canada.

This is the second time I’ve spoken to Shannon Bahrke on the phone, and the first thing she does is apologize for not returning the message I left her the day after she won the bronze medal in women’s moguls. I tell her it’s fine, I understand she’s had more important things to do than sort through her voicemail.

“It has been so crazy,” she says. “We got to go on the Today show a bunch of times. I’ve watched a couple of events, and I’ve been doing tons of interviews and spending time with my family.”

The first time I spoke to Bahrke, before the Olympics, she promised me the American women would make a run at a podium sweep. They came close during the women’s mogul competition on February 13, as Hannah Kearney took gold, Canada’s Jennifer Heil won silver, and Bahrke completed the U.S. bookend with a third-place finish.

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