Chloe Kim’s quest for history ended one spot short.
In Thursday night’s women’s halfpipe final, Kim held the lead with a first-run score of 88.00 but was bested in the final stages by Korea’s Choi Gaon, who notched a 90.25 on her final run to take the gold.
Kim had one last chance to take the top spot but fell midway through her final run. It was a brutal night for the competitors. Not a single one finished all of their runs clean, and Kim fell on her final two.
Kim, the 25-year-old from Southern California, was vying to become the first Olympian in history — male or female — to win three straight gold medals in the halfpipe.
American Shaun White owns three golds, but won them across a span of four Olympics (2006, 2010 and 2018).
American Maddie Mastro, who four years ago in Beijing missed qualifying for the final by one spot, fell on all three runs and finished 12th.
The United States’ third finals qualifier, 19-year-old Bea Kim, fell on her first run but bounced back with a solid 77.00 on her second to take seventh.