LIVIGNO, Italy — Some might say the seeds of an Olympic-sized surprise in snowboarding were planted a month ago.
That’s when Chloe Kim went skittering down a halfpipe in Switzerland, smashing her shoulder and turning the American star’s run for a third straight gold medal into a less-than-perfect scramble.
Kim herself saw it coming years ago. One of her favorite kids and protégés, Gaon Choi of South Korea, kept showing up at halfpipes for practice earlier than anyone else. She kept trying tricks no one else would dare.
Even with Kim at less than 100%, and with the halfpipe slowed by a steady light snow that turned Thursday night into an Italian Alps postcard, and with the hype and pressure of making history hovering over everything, she wasn’t going to just give it away. Someone would have to take down the best rider in women’s snowboarding.
That person was Choi. The 17-year-old overcame a brutal fall at the beginning of the night to post the highest score in the third and final round. Then, in an even bigger surprise, Kim had a chance to top her, but couldn’t.