Kim, James capture world snowboard crowns

PARK CITY, United States: Reigning Olympic champion Chloe Kim captured her first snowboard halfpipe world crown Friday at the World Freestyle Ski and Snowboard Championships while Australia’s Scotty James won his third consecutive men’s title.

Kim, an 18-year-old American of South Korean heritage, was a star at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and came into the worlds at Park City, Utah, off her fourth Aspen Winter X Games Superpipe title in five years.

Kim’s opening run of three was the winner with 93.50 points from judges, although Kim was nervous after bad weather foiled prior training days. Kim, who plans to attend Princeton University in the fall, had clinched the title by her last run, when she went for a new combination but fell early.

China’s Cai Xuetong, the World Cup points leader and defending world champion, was a distant second on 84.00, also off her opening run, while American Maddie Mastro was third on 82.00 from her final run.

James, also the reigning Winter X Games Superpipe champion and season World Cup points leader, took a bronze medal at Pyeongchang but maintained his perfect season — winning every event he has entered — with a superb final run of 97.50.

Japan’s Yuto Totsuka was second on 92.25 from his second run, clipping the edge on his final run to fall after an impressive start, and Swiss Patrick Burgener was third on 91.25 from his second run.

Under the lights in Deer Valley, Canadian Mikael Kingsbury added the freestyle moguls world title to the Olympic gold he won in Pyeongchang. Kingsbury, who has dominated the discipline but was denied a world title in 2017, stormed to victory with a Super Final run that garnered 84.89 points.

Australian Matt Graham was second with 81.94 and Japan’s Daichi Hara was third with 81.66 — an exact repeat of the 2018 Olympic podium.

Kazakhstan’s Yulia Galysheva won the women’s moguls, delivering an impressive front flip with a ski grab on the way to a total of 79.14 points in the Super Final.

The 26-year-old added a world championship title to go with silver won in dual moguls in the 2017 world championships and bronze in the dual moguls in 2015.

Australia’s Jakara Anthony, who notched her first World Cup win three weeks ago, took silver with 78.99 points and reigning Olympic champion Perrine Laffont of France settled for bronze with 78.70.