Snowboarding: Emerging star Chloe Kim, 15, makes history at Grand Prix in Park City
By CHRISTOPHER KAMRANI |
The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Feb 06 2016 03:06PM
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Last Updated Feb 06 2016 07:16 pm
Snowboarding » As first woman to land back-to-back 1080s, she earns perfect score in Grand Prix.
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Park City • A small line formed at the bottom
of the Eagle Superpipe at Park City Mountain Resort. The four
youngsters waited for their seconds with Chloe Kim. With cellphones in
hand, they took turns asking for a selfie alongside the 15-year-old
snowboarding phenom.
Each time, Kim obliged and smiled. After what
transpired Saturday on the sun-soaked Superpipe, Kim couldn't stop
smiling. Before she was introduced as the winner of the women's halfpipe
final in the Visa U.S. Grand Prix, resort-goers riding the adjacent ski
lift up the hill continually screamed her name, congratulated her and
took their own cellphone shots.
A week after becoming the youngest
back-to-back X Games gold medalist in history, the cheerful teenager
from La Palma, Calif., forever changed the sport she's now dominating.
Already guaranteed the victory following a 96.5 score put down on her
first run, Kim waited for her third and final run to try out history.
She nailed it.
Kim became the first female snowboarder to ever
land back-to-back 1080s in competition. The result? Perfection. An even
100. Once she slid into the finish line, the first person waiting for
her was Kelly Clark. A pioneer of the sport and three-time Olympic
medalist, Clark spoke proudly afterward.
"It's really amazing to see where women's
snowboarding's progressed," said the 32-year-old who is more than twice
the age of Kim. "I think this final was an amazing display of women's
snowboarding."
The plan wasn't to attempt back-to-back 1080s
in Park City, Kim said. But she said her landings were especially clean
Saturday and that the speed she was garnering in the middle of the pipe
convinced her to give it a shot.
"I just saw it as an opportunity and I'm so stoked I went for it," she said.
Prior to her historic afternoon, Kim had landed back-to-back 1080s only once in training. The risk paid off.
"It just feels amazing," she said. "I'm really looking forward to the future."
If her track record the past three years is any
indication, the future of the sport may be told through the abilities
of its developing star — a star who can't legally drive a car yet.
Clark, who first watched Kim fly when she was
just 10, owns a unique perspective on where the sport is headed. The
trend-setter for the past two decades was on the podium Saturday,
finishing third behind Kim and another 15-year-old, Maddie Mastro, who
finished second. Clark is tasked with toeing the line between rival and
mentor. After all, it was Clark who held Kim's hand high in the air as
the two celebrated at the base of the halfpipe where she won the 2002
Olympic Games gold medal.
"I found myself more proud than I anticipated
watching Chloe do that today," she said. "It was amazing for the sport.
I was glad to be a part of it."
Kim retreated back into the crowd after she
was officially introduced as the winner and owner of a perfect score.
There were too many awards and prizes to carry in both her arms and
still grab hold of her board. So she asked friends to hold onto some.
She wanted to keep hold of her board.
What's next for the heir apparent to women's
snowboarding? She's two years removed from her breakout season of 2014,
when she earned podiums at the X Games, Dew Tour and U.S. Open. Also a
year she missed on Olympic qualification — due to age restrictions.
"I don't know," she said. "We'll see. I don't know if anything can top today, but hopefully."
end quote from:
Snowboarding: Emerging star Chloe Kim, 15, makes history at Grand …Park
City • A small line formed at the bottom of the Eagle Superpipe at Park
City Mountain Resort. The four youngsters waited for …
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