The beat marches on for Chloe Kim. The California teen sensation took down her competition once again Saturday, winning the X Games Aspen women’s snowboard superpipe contest yet again.<\/p>\n
It was the sixth Aspen medal for the 18-year-old in six Aspen appearances. She’s now won gold four times in Aspen, with a fifth gold coming in Oslo in 2016.<\/p>\n
The most recent medal is probably the most forgettable, however. She appeared to have tweaked her leg during training, and the cold, icy conditions were a struggle for all eight competitors. Kim only put down one clean run, a mild-mannered 84 on her second attempt, but it was enough for gold.<\/p>\n
“I obviously wanted to do a completely different run,” said Kim, who was hoping to attempt a double cork 1080, a trick she’s landed, just never in a competition. “I have a lot of tricks I wanted to do out here. Unfortunately, it was just a little unsafe. My health is more important.”<\/p>\n
The only rider to put down a reasonable first run was Queralt Castellet. The Spaniard and four-time Olympian put down an 80 on her first go, which was more than enough for the silver. It was Castellet’s first X Games medal.<\/p>\n
Finishing in third was China’s Cai Xuetong, who scored 72.66 on her final run. It was Xuetong’s third X Games medal. She took silver in 2017 and had another bronze back in 2016.<\/p>\n
It was a rough day for the two other Americans in Saturday’s competition. Steamboat Springs native Arielle Gold, a two-time X Games Aspen silver medalist, finished last after failing to put down a clean run. California’s Maddie Mastro wasn’t much better, finishing sixth.<\/p>\n
Jiayu Liu (fourth), Haruna Matsumoto (fifth) and Sena Tomita (seventh) rounded out the competitors.<\/p>\n
Despite a lackluster competition, there was plenty to cheer about with Kelly Clark, the sport’s longtime star, making an appearance. Clark recently announced her retirement after a 20-year career that included five Olympic appearances and 14 X Games medals.<\/p>\n
Clark was recognized prior to the contest Saturday, and took one final run through the X Games superpipe before saying a quick farewell to the crowd.<\/p>\n