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Elena Hight Wins Women’s Halfpipe At X Games 2017

Watch the winning runs here

Elena Hight finally bags herself X Games gold. Photo: Joshua Duplechain/ESPN

Of all the freestyle events in snowboarding, the halfpipe usually delivers the most spectacle. Even the sight of riders chucking themselves off a monstrous, icy kicker doesn’t compare.

At the 2017 X Games, excitement was already at fever pitch before the first rider dropped. With a young prodigy on for a three-peat, and some contest veterans ready to do anything to prevent it, the contest was bound to be a stormer. Here’s who made the podium.

3rd: Chloe Kim (USA)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3ulJEChBt0

Given her recent dominance, including the last two X Games and the 2017 Laax Open, many were assuming another Chloe Kim victory was a done deal. However, after sketching out early in her first attempt, she had it all to do on her second. The resulting run was fairly conservative, and in the end was only good enough for bronze.

2nd: Xuetong Cai (China)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PongAL5FClU

After finishing in third last year, Xuetong Cai went one better in 2017. Her run had its sketchy moments, but there was enough technicality in there to earn her a silver medal. The air-to-fakie bookends were a nice touch too.

1st: Elena Hight (USA)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCzd0AzB2HQ

In her long career, Elena Hight had bagged five X Games medals (three silver, two bronze) in her twelve appearances prior to this one. Thirteen wasn’t so unlucky for her, thoug; she landed a solid run, capped off with her signature alley-oop rodeo, to take her first X Games gold.

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