Trio of Canadians fail to advance to women's halfpipe final

By CBC Sports

All three Canadians in the women's snowboard halfpipe event failed to make it out of the qualification round at the Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Four-time Olympian Mercedes Nicoll and rookies Elizabeth Hosking and Calynn Irwin could not finish in the top-12 of an event that was dominated by Americans, namely, Chloe Kim.

The 17-year-old from Long Beach, Calif., posted the top two scores of the day — 91.5 and 95.5 — qualifying her in first place. Three other Americans advanced to the final.

In between her two runs, Kim had just one thought on her mind.

"I'm always more nervous in qualies," Kim said. "Now I can really focus on what I want to do. The pipe has been so good. I'm thankful the conditions have been so amazing."

While Kim didn't indulge in her frozen delight then, she did say she planned to get her treat after the qualifications were over. Her favourite flavour: vanilla Swiss almond.

"But I'll be OK with mango sorbet," Kim said.

Nicoll's top score of 50 placed her first among Canadians in 18th, while Hosking grabbed 19th (36.75) and Irwin ended up 23rd (23.25).

Just yesterday, Nicoll's participation was left in doubt after a training crash; her X-rays came back clear, allowing the snowboard veteran to compete at the Olympics once again.

The final, with Kim entering as the heavy favourite, is set for Monday at 8 p.m. ET.

With files from The Associated Press