You can read a full report from Thursday’s halfpipe final here:90.25 Choi Gaon (South Korea) 88.00 Chloe Kim (USA) 85.00 Mitsuki Ono (Japan) --- 84.00 Sara Shimuzu (Japan) 81.

75 Rise Kudo (Japan) 80.75 Cai Xuetong (China) 78.00 Wu Shaotong (China) 77.00 Bea Kim (USA) 68.25 Sena Tomita (Japan) 33.

50 Queralt Castellet Ibanez (Spain) 27.50 Elizabeth Hosking (Canada) 5.50 Maddie Mastro (USA)That’s two medals for the USA today, and though neither one was gold, neither medalist should be too disappointed.Jessie Diggins fought through badly bruised ribs and somehow found enough in reserve to take a bronze medal in cross-country skiing, adding to her collection of hardware.And Chloe Kim’s impact on the sport was evident even if she came up a couple of points short of a threepeat, as someone she inspired edged her out of the top spot of the podium.

Thanks for following along with one of the most dramatic events of these Games.Check back with our main blog now to follow the rest of the day’s action.This was how Choi’s first run ended – surrounded by medical personnel.She ended her third surrounded by her supportive competitors offering congratulations.None of them will begrudge her this gold medal.

You can’t script this.Well, maybe in the Star Wars universe, where Darth Vader struck down the people who guided him in the Jedi (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Sith (Emperor Palpatine) ways.The mere fact that she upset her mentor’s quest for a threepeat would be dramatic enough.But she did it after a terrible fall in her first run.The Olympics results feed said she had withdrawn from the competition.

Instead, she raced to the line for a second run on which she also fell.Then her third run was majestic.She put the pressure on Kim to go even bigger, and Kim couldn’t do it.The Olympics, folks.Where else do you see this?At worst, Kim will finish second behind the young woman she has mentored.

But she surely wants the three-peat.She takes her time at the top.The suspense builds.Snow is still falling.Starts with the backside 720 again.

Switch method air.Double cork 1080 … no! She can’t stick the landing.No! It’s only an 84.00? She’s fourth behind Ono.Sure, Ono’s run was very good, but … that’s a stunner.

Last person to go.Here goes Chloe Kim …CURRENT PODIUM 90.25 Choi 88.00 Kim (one more run) 85.00 OnoAside from Chloe Kim, the only person left to go is Japan’s Sara Shimuzu.

Double cork 1080 on her second trip,Frontside 900,Oh my,Could this drop Chloe Kim to bronze, pending her final run?Maddie Mastro does her long visualization again,She goes for the double crippler again.

And she falls again.She’ll finish 12th, again.But you have to respect people who take the “go big or go home” ethos to such lengths.Rise Kudo also has landed her first two runs, but she has to go even bigger to land on the podium, and she can’t land all her landings.I need a thesaurus.

If I’ve done the math correctly, the USA will medal because there are only two riders who can knock out Kim, and one is Maddie Mastro, who’s up now.Cai Xuetong landed her first two runs.She opens with a 1080 and is putting together something special until her fifth landing, which she can’t stick.No improvement, and the people in the podium places can breathe a bit easier.That would’ve put her in contention.

It’s snowing hard again, and Choi Gaon is in the pipe, which is impressive in its own right after her devastating crash in the first run.She loads up with three 900s, and everything is clean.Up to the judges … who are taking some times …90.25! She’s ahead of her mentor Chloe Kim!Hosking walks away, which is a relief to see.Here goes Castellet …Her first trick looks shaky.

But her fourth is a very good 900, and she does another on her fifth! She lands it … but no! She can’t stay upright through the finish.Maybe a podium would’ve been tough to reach, but top five seemed likely.The veteran bows out with a 33.50, the best score of those who crashed on all of their runs so far.Can Canada’s Elizabeth Hosking make it through her impressive set of tricks without slipping at the end? She could contend for the podium if she does.

Unfortunately, no.She hits the lip of the wall and falls hard on her back.She’s moving around and able to unclip from her board, but she’s in pain and will get medical attention.Sena Tomita tries the same tricks as she did in her second run, which was only good for seventh.She’ll stay there after hitting the lip of the pipe and sliding down.

Bea Kim goes big with her first three tricks but slips.She won’t improve from sixth, but she’s given a very good account of herself here at age 19.Mitsuki Ono is in second and could legitimately challenge Chloe Kim.The snow is falling again.And Ono falls in the same place where she fell in the second run, about halfway down.

She’ll stay where she is.Wu Shaotong runs nearly the same routine as her second run but changes one grip and is smooth enough to improve to 78.00, moving into fifth ahead of Bea Kim.Everyone gets one more chance to improve …88.00 C.

Kim (USA) 85.00 Ono (Japan) 81.75 Kudo (Japan) – improved from 77.50 80.75 Cai (China) – improved from 73.

00 77.00 B.Kim (USA) – improved from 7.25 70.25 Wu (China) – improved from 67.

75 68.25 Tomita (Japan) – improved from 23.50Hosking (Canada) has come close to completing a strong routine but hasn’t done so.What else can Chloe Kim do? Maybe launch herself into orbit?The first three tricks are the same as in her first run – 720, switch with big amplitude, double cork 1080 again, and she tries back-to-back double corks!But no, she can’t land that one.If she finishes that off in the last run, judges will run out of numbers.

Sara Shimuzu also wiped out in her first run,The 16-year-old lands the 1080 double cork this time but only just, and she loses so much momentum that she can’t get through her third trick,No improvement,Here comes Chloe again …The good news for Maddie Mastro is that the snow stopped a while ago and is no longer a factor,Will she once again attempt an otherworldly trick to start?She goes through her visualization again.

I want this woman to be my life coach.Frontside double crippler again … and she crashes again.At this point, though, she probably can’t dial it back for her third run.She’ll have to try it again.Rise Kudo is the rider who was just bumped out of third place.

How will she answer?(Side note: The Japanese judge gave her a 77 on her first run, lower than several other judges!)This looks good early.She seems to lose a bit of speed partway through, but she finishes with a 1080.Is that enough to get back on the podium? Yes it is! 81.75, a point ahead of Cai.Cai Xuetong had a solid 73.

00 in her first run and managed to sneak in a sixth trick, which is unusual.She starts with a frontside 1080 and has a solid run, but her landings don’t look as smooth as Chloe Kim’s.She once again sneaks in a sixth trick.She’ll improve into a podium place, surely.And she does