The 17-year-old wins with a near-perfect 98.25 score.
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.
Golden girl. #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/6phv2yGzlY
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) 13 February 2018
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.