Chloe Kim's snowboard silver medal at Olympics adds to judging controversy

Chloe Kim's halfpipe snowboard silver medal isn't getting the same attention as the runner-up finish for Team USA duo Evan Bates and Madison Chock in the ice dance.

But there may be some judging controversy involved in Kim's second-place finish, too.

Kim put up an 88.0 on her first run, which sat in first place until the 17-year old Korean Choi Ga-on put up a 90.25 on her third and final run. 

The reigning two-time gold medalist Kim fell on her final run and was unable to leapfrog back into first place.

Kim was gracious afterward, immediately going to hug her competitor and congratulate her.

Some in the snowboard world, though, felt Kim may have been ripped off.

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Chloe Kim silver medal judging controversy

The Associated Press sums up the controversy like this: 

"At the heart of that debate was that Kim landed the hardest trick in the sport — a double-cork 1080 — and Choi did not."

Todd Richards, NBC's commentator for the snowboarding, posted on Instagram to share his thoughts.

“The fact that you are flipping twice upside down while spinning a 1080, the consequences of getting that wrong are a lot higher than doing a switch-backside 900,” Richards said.

The AP does push back against the idea of a true controversy here:

"Choi’s winning run was, indeed, a beauty filled with difficult spins approached from tough angles that were different at every turn. And while Kim also went upside down on her last hit, making her the only rider to do that twice, her run didn’t have Choi’s switch-backside 9 — riding backward and starting the spin facing up the halfpipe — that is largely considered the toughest direction in the sport."

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All told, it was very close. Their scores being separated by just two points reflects that.

The timing was unlucky, as Kim only had one run to try and top that score after her first run score stood the whole time.

The commentary team on NBC did seem surprised when Kim's first run was only an 88.0. Could the judges have went just a little light in the first round, figuring Kim would do more later on? If so, it might have cost her.

“So, Chloe’s 88, in my personal opinion, if she had dropped that on her second or third go, she would’ve been in the lead,” Richards said.

In the end, Kim was silver, not gold. And it was pretty darn close to being a different result.

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