Snowboarding - Kim dominant in halfpipe qualifying, Japanese disappoint
Snowboarding - Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics - Women's Halfpipe Qualification - Phoenix Snow Park - Pyeongchang, South Korea - February 12, 2018 - Chloe Kim of the U.S. reacts after her run. REUTERS/Issei Kato
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (Reuters) - American teenager Chloe Kim lived up to expectations with a dominant performance during qualifying for the ladies snowboard halfpipe on Monday.
Kim, the Korean-American who has become the poster child for Pyeongchang 2018, looked superior to the rest of the field during both runs of qualifying. The 17-year-old scored the two highest runs of the day of 91.50 and 95.50 to finish in first place heading into Tuesday’s final.
Snowboarding - Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics - Women's Halfpipe Qualification - Phoenix Snow Park - Pyeongchang, South Korea - February 12, 2018 - Chloe Kim of the U.S. competes. REUTERS/Mike Blake
The American, ranked first in the world coming into the Olympics, scored almost eight points more than her nearest rival Jiayu Liu of China.
However, Liu wasn’t focussing solely on the teenage sensation ahead of the final.
"There are lots of great athletes in this event," said Liu, who is competing in her third Olympics.
Snowboarding - Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics - Women's Halfpipe Qualification - Phoenix Snow Park - Pyeongchang, South Korea - February 12, 2018 - Hikaru Oe of Japan reacts after run. REUTERS/Issei Kato
"It is going to come down to who can do something special on the day."
There was a nervous wait for Kim’s compatriots Kelly Clark and Arielle Gold as they waited to see whether they had finished in the top 12 and qualified for the final.
Clark, a three-time Olympic medallist, and Gold both qualified by the skin of their teeth, finishing 11th and 12th respectively.
Snowboarding - Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics - Women's Halfpipe Qualification - Phoenix Snow Park - Pyeongchang, South Korea - February 12, 2018 - Kurumi Imai of Japan looks on. REUTERS/Issei Kato
There was mixed news for the Japanese team who came into the event with four women highly touted for success.
Haruna Matsumoto and Sena Tomita both qualified, but Hikaru Oe and Kurumi Imai both failed to get into the top 12.
Oe was left in tears as she faced the Japanese media scrum in the mixed zone afterwards and the world number eight will be devastated to miss out on the final.
Snowboarding - Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics - Women's Halfpipe Qualification - Phoenix Snow Park - Pyeongchang, South Korea - February 12, 2018 - Chloe Kim of the U.S. competes. REUTERS/Mike Blake
The final begins at 1000 local time (0100 GMT) on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Jack Tarrant; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
Snowboarding - Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics - Women's Halfpipe Qualification - Phoenix Snow Park - Pyeongchang, South Korea - February 12, 2018 - Liu Jiayu of China competes. REUTERS/Dylan MartinezSnowboarding - Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics - Women's Halfpipe Qualification - Phoenix Snow Park - Pyeongchang, South Korea - February 12, 2018 - Liu Jiayu of China after her run. REUTERS/Mike BlakeSnowboarding - Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics - Women's Halfpipe Qualification - Phoenix Snow Park - Pyeongchang, South Korea - February 12, 2018 - Haruna Matsumoto of Japan competes. REUTERS/Mike BlakeSnowboarding - Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics - Women's Halfpipe Qualification - Phoenix Snow Park - Pyeongchang, South Korea - February 12, 2018 - Haruna Matsumoto of Japan reacts after her run. REUTERS/Mike BlakeSnowboarding - Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics - Women's Halfpipe Qualification - Phoenix Snow Park - Pyeongchang, South Korea - February 12, 2018 - Sena Tomita of Japan competes. REUTERS/Issei KatoSnowboarding - Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics - Women's Halfpipe Qualification - Phoenix Snow Park - Pyeongchang, South Korea - February 12, 2018 - Sena Tomita of Japan reacts after her run. REUTERS/Mike BlakeSnowboarding - Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics - Women's Halfpipe Qualification - Phoenix Snow Park - Pyeongchang, South Korea - February 12, 2018 - Kelly Clark of the U.S. competes. REUTERS/Issei KatoSnowboarding - Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics - Women's Halfpipe Qualification - Phoenix Snow Park - Pyeongchang, South Korea - February 12, 2018 - Arielle Gold of the U.S. competes. REUTERS/Issei Kato
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