American snowboarder Chloe Kim's pursuit of a third straight Olympic gold medal ended with a fall on her final run, leaving her with silver in a challenging women’s halfpipe final.
Kim entered the last attempt in second place after South Korea’s Gaon Choi posted a 90.25. Her opening run, scored at 88, had kept her in control for much of the contest. With one run remaining, she chose to increase the difficulty rather than repeat a safer routine.
"I said that I wanted to go for it,” Kim said, adding, “because that’s what I do.”
Difficult conditions shape the contest
The final was marked by heavy snowfall and repeated falls. Seven of the first 12 runs ended without a complete routine. Several contenders struggled to manage speed and landings on a pipe affected by steady snow.
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Kim acknowledged adjusting her first run after watching others crash.
“I'll admit I went pretty safe on it,” she said of her opening run. “Didn't go as big as I was in practice. Mainly because I was watching all these girls take slams, and I was like, ‘Let's just get to the bottom.”
The strategy secured an early lead, but it proved beatable once Choi delivered a clean, high-scoring run late in the competition. Kim also fell on her second attempt, leaving everything to the final run.
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Injury adds context
Kim revealed she has been dealing with a dislocated shoulder that “keeps popping out” and said she is likely to undergo surgery after returning to the United States. The injury disrupted her preparation in the lead-up to the Games.
“There was a lot of conversation happening about the three-peat and whatnot,” she said, adding that she was “thinking about it, for sure. But I think the minute I injured myself, I was like, "That doesn't matter anymore. Let's just get there and see how far we can go."
She added that competing itself felt uncertain a month ago. “This feels like a win to me because a month ago it didn’t seem too possible.”
