Harbin: Kim Geon-hui was awarded the gold medal in the weather-interrupted men’s snowboard halfpipe event at the Asian Winter Games in China on Thursday. Kim had finished first in the qualification round Wednesday. And when the final scheduled for Thursday was canceled due to blustery conditions at Yabuli Ski Resort, some 200 kilometers southeast of the main host city, Harbin, Kim was crowned the champion based on his qualification score of 78.00 points.
According to Yonhap News Agency, it was South Korea’s 13th gold medal of this Winter Asiad. Another South Korean boarder, Lee Ji-o, got the bronze with 69.75 points. Koyata Kikuchihara of Japan earned the silver with 75.00 points. In the qualification round, the athletes each performed two runs, and the higher score of the two became their final score.
Lee Chae-un, the slopestyle champion from Saturday favored to take the halfpipe title, finished in sixth place with 43.75 points.