ZHANGJIAKOU, China — Chloe Kim’s defense of her halfpipe gold medal is off to a strong start.
Kim, 21, rode second in Wednesday’s snowboard halfpipe qualifying round, and immediately posted an 87.75 that would stand up through every one of the other 21 riders and 42 successive runs. Her first run was tentative, but with enough technical skill to impress the six-judge panel and return an unbeatable score.
The other three members of Team USA’s halfpipe team didn’t match Kim’s success. Zoe Kalapos and Tessa Maud wrecked during their qualifying runs and failed to post sufficiently high scores in the others.