DAY #6 SPORTS FOCUS: Chloe Kim wins the hearts of the world, again!

Chloe Kim lived up to her superstar billing as the darling of the snowboard world.

With her infectious smile, bubbly personality, and ability to soar and spin unlike any female snowboarder on the planet, Chloe Kim dazzled and delivered a dominant first run performance to win Olympic halfpipe gold.

Kim defended her Olympic title from PyeongChang 2018 to become the first female snowboarder to achieve back-to-back victories in the high-flying event, since it made its debut at Nagano 1998. Her amplitudes and variety of tricks were unequaled.

“It feels unreal that I was able to do that today,” Kim said. “It’s honestly been such an amazing experience and I’m grateful to be here.”

The Korean-American athlete has collected five X-Games gold medals, two world championship titles and now has a pair of Olympic gold medals.

Her first run 94.00-point score held up as 12 riders proceeded through three rounds at the Genting Snow Park halfpipe on Thursday morning. Spain’s Queralt Castellet – competing at her fifth Olympics – executed a spectacular second run of tricks for a 90.25 tally and the silver medal.

Exuding the confidence of a champion well beyond her years, the 21-year-old Californian snowboarder stormed out to the lead in her first run, nailing all of her tricks and landings, a repertoire that included a cab 1080 and double cork 1080. Kim dropped to her knees, excited and relieved, knowing the stellar run would be aptly rewarded by the six judges.

In the third and final round, Kim’s chief rival China’s Cai Xuetong missed landing a difficult trick, her hands hitting the sidewall before she landed. When 17-year-old Japanese rider Sena Tomita also faltered, the gold medal belonged to Kim, while Tomita settled for bronze.

Kim’s final run, as has been the case in the past such as when she won World Championship gold in Park City, Utah, in 2019, was a victory lap. Or as the Italian commentators call it a “Glory Run.” Kim went big, but couldn’t land an otherworldly trick, as was also the case in her second run, but it need not matter.

“It’s out of the bag now, yes I can do a Cab 12 – I’m super bummed I wasn’t able to land it today because I thought I had that trick unlocked, but the truth is this halfpipe is much bigger, much faster and much icier than all of the other halfpipes.”

The Korean-American boarder captured the hearts of the world four years previous as the youngest female snowboarder, at age 17, ever to win Olympic gold. This time, in Beijing, the love grew deeper.

After her second run, Kim dashed over to the side of the course and embraced in a lengthy hug with Eileen Gu, her fellow Olympic champion, who won the women’s freeski big air two days ago. The duo of immensely talented young athletes are like rock stars, role models, and boundary-pushers in freestyle skiing and snowboarding.

Considering the attention that she has become accustomed to receiving and the pressures that go with competing on the highest level, Kim admitted she has struggled with mental health like many other athletes these days. She said she wasn’t in great spirits the morning of the competition.

“It’s OK, if you’re going through something, it’s not easy to overcome,” Kim said. “You have to put yourself first and get help. It’s not a bad thing, its normal. Take care of yourself, put yourself first.”

Kim was also questioned about her competitive future, as an icon in the sport only aged 21.

“I genuinely don’t know how many more Olympics I’ll do – honestly, it’s all about how I’m feeling mentally, physically,” she said.

“It isn’t an easy sport, its really hard, but the ladies all make it look easy, but I promise you if you tried half of the things they do, it wouldn’t end well for you,” said the Californian snowboarder. “I fall on my butt and I’m sore for three days,” she said laughing.”

“It’s all about being smart and prioritizing my health above all and taking it step by step.”

And what exactly is next for the double Olympic champion after she returns home to the U.S.?

“I’m excited to see my family, I’m excited to drive and maybe go snowboarding in Mammoth this spring,” Chloe said. “I think I’m just going to chill, fully relax and soak it all in. I think I’m in a much better place now.”

Spain’s “Queen of Snowboarding” strikes silver

Queralt Castellet is the epitome of perseverance. At age 32, and competing at her fifth Olympic Games, the Spanish snowboarder from Barcelona won her first Olympic medal. At the past four Winter Games, she has finished 26th, 12th, 11th and seventh. Talk about steady progression.

Now, she owns a silver medal, sixteen years after she first competed on the Olympic stage in Torino 2006.

“My first Olympics I was 16 years old - I was far away from even thinking that the podium was a possibility, but when I saw the girls up there, who back then were my heroes, I did set up a dream,” Castellet said. “My dream was to be up there like them, and it happened today, 16 years after.

“I’ve seen the progression happening in snowboarding and in my discipline. It’s amazing to be a part of, especially at the moment when we have people like Chloe pushing the boundaries, and ourselves as well.”

Castellet is coached by American two-time Olympic halfpipe silver medalist Danny Kass.

The Spanish snowboarder is just the third female Winter Olympian to win a first medal at her fifth Games. She joins Belarusian freestyle aerials skier Alla Tsuper (2014) and U.S. cross-country skier Kikkan Randall (2018), who both also demonstrated perseverance to finally attain Olympic hardware.

Nathan Chen skates to gold

American Nathan Chen landed five quads en route to skating to a gold medal, after extending his lead following a world record short program.

Chen skated to Elton John’s Rocket Man and received a standing ovation for his amazing performance.

Japan’s Kagiyama Yuma and Uno Shoma won the silver and bronze medals, while Chen’s rival and defending Olympic champion Hanyu Yuzuru finished a disappointing fourth.

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