With an American eagle on his helmet and a photograph of his grandfather under it, Jim Shea won the gold medal in skeleton Wednesday under a steady snowfall at Utah Olympic Park.

The United States also went gold-silver in the first-ever skeleton event for women, with Tristan Gale edging teammate Lea Ann Parsley.

Shea finished with a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 41.96 seconds, using a late burst of speed to beat Austrian Martin Rettl by .05.

Gregor Staehli claimed bronze in the event, a face-first version of luge that returned to the Olympics for the first time since 1948.

Shea was considered a medal contender leading into the Games and became a sentimental favorite last month when his grandfather -- former Olympian Jack Shea -- was killed in a car accident.

The first third-generation Olympian, Shea had the support of his father, former nordic skier James Shea, as he stormed to an emotional victory.