American snowboarder Chloe Kim is headed to the women's halfpipe final after a fabulous qualifying run on Wednesday, a feat that was somewhat expected but also perhaps a touch in doubt considering the shoulder injury she suffered before the Games.
To hear Kim discuss it, though, her success was never (figuratively) up in the air, if only because she's been doing this for so long.
“Rust? No rust. I’m not rusty. I’ve been snowboarding for 22 years," Kim said after finishing first in the field with a score of 90.25. "I might be better at snowboarding than I am at walking."
In Milan, the 25-year-old is attempting to win her third consecutive gold medal, something no American snowboarder has ever done. Such a goal grew complicated when Kim tore her labrum in January, forcing her to break from snowboarding until just before the Olympics. But on Wednesday, reporters on the ground said that she looked overall unencumbered by the injury, though she is currently wearing a brace.
“My shoulder’s been a pain in the a--, and I’m going to have to rip off all this tape now and do it all again tomorrow,” Kim said, alluding to her protective bandages. “I’m really glad it’s feeling good. I will need surgery after this event, but it hasn’t popped out since I’ve been here, so I’m just really grateful to be here."
And although she was far and away the best in the pack (she led the qualifying field by 2.75 points), she was not necessarily impressed with her own performance.
“That was a six out of 10, and we’re going for a 10 tomorrow," she said, referring to Thursday's final.
Here's hoping. Tune into NBC at 1:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 12 to see how she fares.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chloe Kim Dropped Most Confident Line After Qualifying for Women's Halfpipe Final.
