Chloe Kim won snowboard halfpipe gold with incredible ease to retain her Winter Olympic title from 2018.
Unbeaten since 2019, the 21-year-old American blew away her competition with a 94.00 score on her opening run.
Kim defended her PyeongChang title and secured first place in the women’s halfpipe for a second consecutive Games.
In her first run at Beijing’s Zhangjiakou venue, Kim threw down an epic performance with a 900 and two 1080s for an astonishing score of 94 that even brought her to happy tears.
On run No. 2, she fell when she attempted a 1260 move. Lastly, on her third run, which was her victory lap as no other competitor even came close to her score, Kim once again went for the 1260, but fell.
Speaking about pushing the progression of her sport with the 1260, Kim said, “It’s so important and honestly, the first run I was like, I’m just going to put down my safety run and then I’ll get two attempts at landing the cab 12. It’s a very new trick so I’m really looking forward to being able to land it, maybe at the next [Olympics].”
Kim, who has spoken openly about dealing with fame, also told NBC: “I’m in a much better headspace. I have a much better idea of what to expect and I’m so eager to see my loved ones, my family, my dog, my boyfriend, so I think that will keep me happy and I’m just going to feel all the feelings.”
The star also got emotional when she was surprised with a video call with her parents, sisters and dog. Spain’s Queralt Castellet won silver and Japan’s Sena Tomita took bronze.
Kim won Team USA’s second gold medal at the Beijing Games. Snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis became the first American to win a gold medal last night when she dominated the women’s snowboardcross event.
Chloe Kim is an American snowboarder and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist. At the 2018 Winter Olympics, she became the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding gold medal when she won gold in the women’s snowboard halfpipe at 17 years old.
Now with her victory in China, Kim is the first woman to win back-to-back gold medals in the women’s halfpipe event.