Chloe Kim had nearly solidified her spot in Olympic history heading into the third and final run of the halfpipe event.
The 25-year-old icon was looking to become the first U.S. snowboarder to capture three straight gold medals — a feat not even snowboarding legend Shaun White accomplished — and it seemed she had secured it with an epic first run.
Kim is the first woman to land two separate kinds of 1080-degree double corks — two head-over-heels flips — and she continued that trend at the Livigno Snow Park, where she landed a switch double cork 1080.
And she wasn’t done after that. She followed it with an inverted 540 with an indie grab.
“That is a double gold medal flex,” analyst Todd Richard said.
The run scored her a whopping 88, three points above her closest challenger, Japan’s Mitsuki Ono.
Kim held the lead through the first two runs, and nearly all of the third.
But an unexpected final run from South Korea’s Gaon Choi, who had earlier fallen during her first run and was nearly out of the competition, shocked the snowboarding world and topped Kim’s score, reaching 90.25.
Choi took a brutal fall during her first run and required medical attention, but she returned to the competition at the last minute during the second run, where she fell again.
Kim attempted to go big in her last shot at a medal, but fell and did not improve on her score. She took home silver in the event.
She was competing in these Olympics wearing a shoulder brace, the result of an awkward fall four weeks ago during a training run in Switzerland. She returned to the halfpipe only two weeks ago.
Fellow American Maddie Mastro failed to complete any of her three runs, falling on the same trick each time. Canada’s Elizabeth Hosking fell during her third run and required medical attention but was able to walk away, her injuries unknown.
The falls came as snow fell during the event, though it was unclear if weather or visibility played a role in the mishaps.
The finals for the halfpipe will re-air in primetime starting at 9 p.m. CT.
Watch the coverage below:
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