Olympic champion Chloe Kim has been so dominant in her snowboard sport that when she fails to win that becomes news.
Californian Kim finished second at the Burton U.S. Open this weekend.. In first place was fellow American Maddie Mastro, who became the first woman to land a double crippler — a double backflip above the halfpipe — in competition.
Kim had a good reason for her uncharacteristic showing. “Unfortunately, I found out I broke my ankle today so I will need to get surgery to get it fixed,” she said.
Until the Burton competition, Kim had won eight straight contests.
No timeline was given for her return to competition but she will definitely miss the U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe competition on March 9.
Eighteen-year -old Kim, who became a breakout star after winning the gold medal at the Pyeongchang Olympics last year, will enroll at Princeton in the fall.
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