American snowboarding prodigy Chloe Kim has taken the gold medal in the women’s snowboard halfpipe at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, topping the field with a phenomenal 98.25 score in the final, while fellow American Arielle Gold took the bronze.
Kim, the 17-year-old Californian, served up the near-perfect score on her last of three runs in the daytime final on Tuesday, a mark that none of the 11 other competitors could match. She is the youngest ever gold medalist in the halfpipe event.
It was the third gold of the Games for the United States, following fellow 17-year-old Red Gerard’s win in the men’s snowboarding slopestyle competition, and Jamie Anderson taking gold in the same event for women.
Even though Kim’s winning score came in her final run, she had secured the gold with her first score of 93. Her second run failed to impress, getting a 41 from judges, but her flawless third effort clinched her top position in what is her first Winter Olympics.
Kim, a four-time X Games gold medalist, was joined by fellow U.S. snowboarders Kelly Clark and Maddie Mastro in the final, who placed fourth and 12th, respectively.
Gold, who had missed the 2014 Sochi Games due to injury, took bronze with a top score of 85.85.
Kim’s elation following her 93.75 run was obvious.
But if she was nervous while waiting between her runs, she didn’t show it. Just minutes before her third and final run, Kim’s mind was not on the halfpipe but on her stomach.
She had delighted fans in previous days by talking up her favorite junk food.
When a fan asked if she sent her ice cream tweet while competing in the preliminary rounds, she replied “yes....”