BEIJING -- Chloe Kim continues her dominance in the halfpipe. On Thursday, the champion won her second gold medal. She is the first woman to win multiple gold medals at the women's halfpipe since 1998 when it was made an Olympic sport.
Kim won the gold medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics when she was just 17 years old. Kim was certain she would lead the pack going into this event.
Now 21, the 21-year old's first stellar run earned her an impressive 94 points. This is far more than her competitors, and four points better than Spain's Queralt Castellet, who was second.
Castellet, who is 11 years older than Kim, was competing at her fifth Olympics. She was awarded 90.25 points. Bronze was won by Sena Tomita of Japan with 88.25 Points.
Kim was clearly relieved after her first run. She was overcome with excitement at the end of the course and smiled wide.
She was able to overcome a second and third attempt at the halfpipe with her early lead.
To score the most points, each athlete must run three times. She was the only competitor who could match her.
After her first turn she said that she tried a new trick called "cab 1260", but it didn't work. She said, "I can do cab 1260. But I'm really bummed that it didn't work today. I thought that I knew that trick." "The truth is that this halfpipe is much larger, faster and icier than any other halfpipes that I have ridden.
Kim was the American woman who competed in Thursday's women's halfpipe competition.
Kim stated that she was inspired by her star-making Pyeongchang appearance and learned to balance her mental health, especially during times of high pressure.
She said that putting her mental health first, and not going to school for too long, put her in the best position to win gold.
Kim stated, "The greatest challenge for me right now is to just be as open and honest as possible because I hope that one day, a little boy can hear my story, be inspired to keep moving forward, to never lose heart, to learn that you can get through bad days but that you can still move on if it brings you to a better place."
She is not certain if she will be competing in another Olympics.
She said, "There's a lot blood, sweat, tears and hard work sacrificed by families." It's not an easy task. Three days later, I am sore from falling on my butt.
