Thursday. 28.03.2024
WINTER OLYMPICS

Spanish snowboarder Queralt Castellet wins silver medal in Beijing

The 32-year-old finally managed to collect an Olympic medal at her fifth attempt
(L-R) Silver medallist Queralt Castellet from Spain, gold medallist Chloe Kim from USA and bronze medallist Sena Tomita from Japan cheer on the podium during the award veremony for the Women's Snowboard Halfpipe Final in the ocurse of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Photo: Hendrik Schmidt/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa.
(L-R) Silver medallist Queralt Castellet from Spain, gold medallist Chloe Kim from USA and bronze medallist Sena Tomita from Japan cheer on the podium during the award veremony for the Women's Snowboard Halfpipe Final. Photo: Hendrik Schmidt/dpa.

The Spanish snowboarder Queralt Castellet won the first medal for the Spanish delegation at the Beijing Winter Olympics on Thursday. 

Castellet claimed a well deserved silver medal in the women's halfpipe, which was dominated by snowboarder Chloe Kim, who has continued her winning streak to secure back-to-back Olympic golds.

Kim beat the Spanish athlete by almost 4 points. The American scored 94 on her first run, blurting out "oh my God" as she came into the finish.

"I was so proud of myself. I had the worst practice, ever. I probably landed my run twice when I’m used to landing it eight times, normally, and so that puts you in a weird headspace," Kim said when the competition ended.

The oldest competitor in the final, Castellet was the only other rider to hit the 90s, with a best run of 90.25.

Culmination of long sports career

This is the fifth medal won by a Spanish athlete in the Winter Olympics and the culmination of a long career. The 32-year-old finally managed to collect an Olympic medal at her fifth attempt.

"My first Olympics I was 16 years old. I was far away from even thinking that the podium was a possibility," Castellet said.

"I did set up a dream and my dream was to be up there... Very happy it happened today, 16 years after."

Japan's Sena Tomita took bronze with 88.25.

Two-time halfpipe world champion Cai Xuetong of China was fourth. Pyeongchang 2018 silver medallist Liu Jiayu fell in both her first runs and could only manage eighth with 73.50.

Spanish snowboarder Queralt Castellet wins silver medal in Beijing