LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb 11 (Reuters) - American snowboarder Chloe Kim cruised into the halfpipe finals at the Winter Olympics on Wednesday, showing off high-altitude tricks to easily lead the field as she moved a step closer to claiming a third straight gold medal.
Kim, one of the greatest snowboarders in history, burst into a broad smile when she finished an impressive first run on the sun-drenched Alpine slopes of Livigno, Italy.
The 25-year-old showed no signs that she was bothered by a shoulder injury a month ago. She outpaced competitors by a healthy margin with a score of 90.25.
Her closest rival, Sara Shimizu of Japan, finished at 87.50.
Kim said she was thrilled to advance given that her appearance was thrown into question when she fell in early January during a training session in Switzerland. On Wednesday, she said her shoulder was being held in place by a brace and would require surgery after Thursday's halfpipe finals.
"I'm just really stoked that I was able to make it out and make it through qualifiers," she said at the bottom of the pipe.
BIGGER TRICKS
On her second run, Kim tried bigger tricks and wobbled on a couple of landings, but it did not matter because of her comfortable lead from round one. Only the best of two runs counted at the end.
The halfpipe features riders sliding across a 22-foot-tall, U-shaped ramp and performing acrobatic manoeuvres in the air. Kim took halfpipe gold in Pyeongchang in 2018 and at Beijing 2022.
No snowboarder - not even men's great Shaun White - has won three consecutive gold medals at the Olympics.
Kim said she felt "really at ease" and calm going into the Games. She said hoped to land a brand-new run in the finals and see if it was enough to reach the top of the podium again.
"I'm just going to do what I came here to do, and if they decide to give it to me, then awesome," she said. "Just the fact I'm able to be out here and riding and being confident is kind of all I can ask for," Kim said.
Queralt Castellet Ibanez of Spain, the 2022 silver medallist, made it through to the finals, as did reigning bronze medallist Sena Tomita of Japan.
Chinese rider Liu Jiayu, a 2018 silver medallist competing in her fifth Olympics, crashed on the second run and was carried off the course on a stretcher by medical staff. No information on her condition was provided.
Americans Bea Kim and Maddie Mastro also advanced.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine Editing by Christian Radnedge and Andrew Cawthorne)
