Chinese snowboarder Cai Xuetong wins bronze in halfpipe at U.S. Open

Chinese snowboarder Cai Xuetong took the bronze medal in the women's halfpipe at the Burton U.S. Open in Vail, Colorado last Saturday.

Cai finished just 0.99 points behind American winner Maddie Mastro in third with 83.75 points, having landed a huge Cab 900 melon on her last hit.

Maddie, 18, also made history by becoming the first woman to ever land a double crippler 900 in competition.

Maddie Mastro defeated her compatriot Chloe Kim, the PyeongChang Olympic champion, by 0.12 points to earn her first title in Vail.

Kim, who had won eight consecutive competitions including the world championships in February, scored 84.62. However, she later said on Twitterthat she suffered a broken ankle that would force her to miss a contest at Mammoth Mountain next week.

"Today was insane! Love watching women's snowboarding progress!" she wrote. @Unfortunately found out that I broke my ankle today so I will need to get surgery to get it fixed. So bummed I won't be able to compete in Mammoth but I will be there to support! "

Scotty James of Australia, who has won three consecutive world championships, won the men's final.

(Top image: Cai Xuetong claimed the silver medal at the FIS Snowboard World Championships halfpipe final on February 8, 2019. /VCG photo)