By Sportswriter Wang Jimin
PYEONGCHANG, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- American snowboarding legend Shaun White claimed his third Olympic gold by winning the men's halfpipe of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games at the Phoenix Snow Park on Wednesday.
White earned 97.75 points in his last run of three to win the 100th Winter Olympic gold medal for the United States, beating Ayumu Hirano of Japan to the second place with 95.25.
White said: "I knew I did a great ride and I was proud of that and I could walk away with my head high, but when they announced my score and I'd won, it crippled me."
The 31-year-old White became the first male American to take gold in three Winter Games, previously winning the men's halfpipe in the Turin Games in 2006, and in Vancouver in 2010.
"Honestly it's one of the most challenging runs I've ever done. Three gold medals. My fourth Olympics. Thank you, I'm feeling blessed," White added.
The four-time Olympian injured his wrist in a fall in slopestyle and fell on his final run in the halfpipe, finishing fourth in 2014 Sochi Olympics.
"I just have to thank my team. They were always there to support me and reassure me that what we're doing is on the right track and they believed in me. That really helped me," White added.
The winds continued to hit the Games as organisers were forced to close the media work tent outside the Kwandong Hockey Center ahead of an ice hockey game between Japan and South Korea. Besides, biathlon and Alpine skiing events were cancelled again due to bad weather.
In the Gangneung Oval, Dutch skater Jorien ter Mors broke the Olympic record as she upset title favorite and world record holder Nao Kodaira of Japan to win the women's 1,000 meters speed skating.
Finishing in one minute and 13.56 seconds, Mors shattered the old Olympic record of 1:13.83, which was set by Chris Witty of the United States at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002.
Mors has struggled with back and knee injuries this season on the way of winning her third Olympic gold speed skating medal in her third appearance in the sport at the Winter Games. Moreover, she has won all three of her gold medals in Olympic record times including the 1,500m and team pursuit at the Sochi Games in 2014.
Germany continued to be the biggest winner at the PyeongChang Games, claiming two golds with one coming from Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt in doubles luge and the other from Eric Frenzel in men's Nordic combined individual Gundersen.
China, host of the 2022 Games, is still waiting for their first gold in PyeongChang after five days' competitions, but figure skaters Sui Wenjing/Han Cong of China finished first in pairs short program after posting a personal best of 82.39 points. They will fight for the gold in Thursday's free skate.
The pair showed their strength in the music of Hallelujah with a clean and complete program, earning them the highest technical score of 44.49 points among the peers.
"We're in good shape and we have fully shown today what we are trained for. I hope we can do better in the final," said Han.
Germany now leads the medals table with seven golds, followed by the Netherlands with five.
