Beijing, China, February 10, 2022: Four years after finishing eighth in the women’s snowboard halfpipe at PyeongChang 2018, Japan’s Sena Tomita this time made it to the podium – and a bronze medal.
Kim registered a best score of 94.00 points on the first of her three runs; Castellet had 90.25 on her second run and Tomita 88.25, also on her second run. The 22-year-old Japanese was competing in her second Winter Olympics after placing eighth four years ago.
Tomita’s sister, Ruki, was fifth, and Sena said her presence in the Olympics at Genting Snow Park on Thursday was a big boost.
“My sister and I have been snowboarding for many years,” Sena said. “She crashed first. I wanted to go and console her but she was taking it well and ready for the next run. Yeah, we were just hugging and cheering for each other.
“She was emotional when I was on the podium. She is amazing and growing very much. I hope to one day share the podium with her.”
Sena admitted that she felt a bit intimidated by the course after suffering an injury here, but she managed to deal with it so it would not affect her performance.
Photo: FIS Snowboarding