Aspen, CO – American women took two of the three podium spots in snowboard halfpipe at the X Games on Saturday night. Elena Hight, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., won her first X Games gold medal and fellow Californian Chloe Kim earned bronze. China’s Xuetong Cai separated the two with the silver medal.
In a contest where only six of 18 runs were landed, Hight rose above the field by being the only athlete to land both of her passes. She put down a highly technical run that included a back-to-back 900 combo and an alley-oop backside rodeo. The 27-year-old already owns three silver and two bronze medals but it was her first gold in 13 appearances.
Kim, who was the three-time defending gold medalist, also put down a technical run full of switch tricks but it wasn’t enough to top the field in 2017.
Seven-time X Games halfpipe champion Kelly Clark, of West Dover, Vt., finished just off the podium in fourth.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
X Games Aspen 2017
Aspen, CO – Jan. 28, 2017
Women’s Snowboard Superpipe
| Rank | Name | Run 1 | Run 2 | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elena Hight | 76.66 | 87.33 | 87.33 |
| 2 | Xuetong Cai | 85.00 | 39.33 | 85.00 |
| 3 | Chloe Kim | 13.33 | 81.00 | 81.00 |
| 4 | Kelly Clark | 10.66 | 72.66 | 72.66 |
| 5 | Jiayu Liu | 71.66 | 17.33 | 71.66 |
| 6 | Arielle Gold | 15.33 | 51.66 | 51.66 |
| 7 | Maddie Mastro | 31.33 | 30.66 | 31.33 |
| 8 | Hannah Teter | 22.33 | 24.33 | 24.33 |