Even though the United States hasn’t won a gold medal through the first four days of the 2022 Olympics, things are starting to look up. Why? Well, it’s almost Chloe Kim time.
The 21-year-old star will begin her Olympic gold defense in the snowboarding halfpipe on Tuesday night in the qualifying round. Kim won gold at the 2018 Games in the halfpipe when she was just 17 years old.
Here’s everything you need to know about Kim and the rest of the women’s snowboarding events for Tuesday:
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What women’s snowboarding events are on tonight?
There are two women’s snowboarding events set for Tuesday night: the halfpipe and the snowboard cross.
Halfpipe qualifying will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, and the final will not be until Wednesday night.
All snowboard cross events will be held on Tuesday, starting with the seeding runs at 10:10 p.m. ET. The cross finals are set for 1:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, so all the action will take place over a few hours tonight.
When is Chloe Kim snowboarding at the Olympics?
Kim only competes in one event: the halfpipe.
So, she’ll be in action on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC. If Kim advances through the qualifying round, she will compete in the halfpipe finals at 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday — again in primetime on NBC.
Will Chloe Kim win the gold medal again?
She is expected to, but we’ve learned in these Olympics that nothing is guaranteed.
Kim is heavily favored to defend her gold medal. Since becoming the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding gold in 2018, her skills have only improved. Kim won gold at the X Games Aspen superpipe in 2019 and 2021, and she added golds in the World Championships halfpipe in 2019 and 2021.
Queralt Castellet of Spain, who finished third in the 2021 World Championships halfpipe, is expected to be one of Kim’s stiffest competitors. Team USA’s Maddie Mastro, 21, has also been strong in recent World Championship events, earning bronze in 2019 and silver in 2021.
Who are the other American women snowboarders?
Outside of Kim, there are seven other women’s snowboarders competing on Tuesday night.
Mastro, Zoe Kalapos and Tessa Maud will join Kim in the halfpipe. Lindsey Jacobellis, Faye Gulini, Stacy Gaskill and Meghan Tierney are competing in the snowboarding cross.