ZHANGJIAKOU: American sensation Chloe Kim gave a snowboarding masterclass as she successfully defended her Olympic halfpipe title at the Beijing Games on Thursday.
The 21-year-old had the title in the bag after only the first of three runs, scoring a whopping 94.00 points to give her a virtually unassailable lead.
She clutched her helmet and fell to her knees after sliding into the finish area, then got back up and turned the rest of the competition into her own private victory lap.
She fell on her second run and received a hug from Californian-born Chinese freestyle skiing star Eileen Gu, who was watching at the finish area, before making her way back up the hill for her third and final attempt.
By then she already had the title wrapped up, and although she fell again on her final run, she celebrated with the other riders when she slid in to the finish area.
Spain's Queralt Castellet took silver on 90.25 and Japan's Sena Tomita claimed bronze on 88.25.
China's best hope Cai Xuetong, who was third in qualifying, finished fourth on 81.25 despite vocal support from Gu and the flag-waving home crowd.
Kim became the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding medal when she won halfpipe gold as a 17-year-old at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
She took a two-year break from competition after her Olympic success as she struggled to cope with the pressures of fame.
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