By USSA

ASPEN, Colo. – California women took two of the three podium spots in halfpipe at the X Games on Saturday night. Elena Hight (South Lake Tahoe) won her first X Games gold medal and Chloe Kim (Torrance) earned bronze.  

In a contest where only six of 18 runs were landed, Hight rose above the field by being the only athlete to land both of her passes. She put down a highly technical run that included a back-to-back 900 combo and an alley-oop backside rodeo. The 27-year-old already owns three silver and two bronze medals, but it was her first gold in 13 appearances.

Kim, who was the three-time defending gold medalist, also put down a technical run full of switch tricks but it wasn’t enough to top the field in 2017. Kim and Hight were joined on the podium by Xuetong Cai of China, who earned silver.   

Seven-time X Games halfpipe champion Kelly Clark (West Dover, Vt.) finished just off the podium in fourth. Arielle Gold (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) was sixth; Maddie Mastro (Wrightwood) was seventh; Hannah Teter (Meyers) was eighth.