Chloe Kim began her quest for golden history Tuesday and she got off to a solid start.
Kim nailed her first run, landing a cab 900 and a switch backside 540 for a score of 87.75, giving her an early lead in the competition.
Kim was the second of 22 competitors to drop in for the first run.
Each athlete has two runs to score the maximum points possible in the qualifying round. Twelve athletes of the 22 will qualify for the final.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
Watch it below:
Kim will be the first to hit the slopes Tuesday as the 21-year-old looks to qualify in the women's halfpipe, her only event these Games. Kim won gold at the 2018 Games in the halfpipe when she was just 17 years old.
Kim is heavily favored to defend her gold medal. Since becoming the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding gold in 2018, her skills have only improved. Kim won gold at the X Games Aspen superpipe in 2019 and 2021, and she added golds in the World Championships halfpipe in 2019 and 2021.
Sports
If Kim wins, she'll become the first to earn both multiple and consecutive golds in women's halfpipe. Challengers include teammate and reigning world runner-up Maddie Mastro, two-time world champion Cai Xuetong of China and 2020 X Games winner Queralt Castellet of Spain.
If Kim advances through the qualifying round, she will compete in the halfpipe finals at 7:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday -- again in primetime on NBC.
Don’t miss the most exciting moments of the Winter Olympics in Beijing! Sign up for our Olympics newsletter.
