LIVIGNO, Italy — Sure, Chloe Kim was a touch nervous. But who were we kidding?
«I might be better at snowboarding than I am at walking,» she said.
That was apparent Wednesday when Kim, four weeks removed from a schedule-scrambling shoulder injury, soared through a no-fuss, no-drama qualifying round, finishing first to easily earn a spot in the final, where she will attempt to become the first snowboarder to win three straight Olympic gold medals.
Two dozen riders got two turns down the Olympic halfpipe on a partly cloudy day in Livigno, with their best score counting and 12 advancing to Thursday night’s final.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.
«I’ve landed all the components of my finals run. I just haven’t put them together,» she said. «So I’ll get to do it on the big day.»
Among her biggest challengers will be Americans Mastro and Bea Kim, Japan’s Sara Shimizu and Sena Tomita and South Korea’s Gaon Choi, all of whom made the final 12. They are all in the running for medals — and a gold one if Kim is not at her best.
Seasoned as she is in jumping huge in big contests, Kim conceded that the injury — which forced her to switch things on the fly in the run-up to Milan Cortina — has changed her perspective on the possibilities of being the sport’s first to win three in a row.
«If you’d asked me before the shoulder injury, I’d maybe have a different answer for you,» she said. «But just because I’m coming back from an injury, obviously I didn’t get nearly the amount of reps I would normally get going into an Olympics. I’m just really proud of myself and proud that I’ve been able to push it as far as I have.»
