Chase produced an impressive display in the face of stern competition as his sparkling routine was rewarded with a healthy 97.75 points.

The American finished a slender one point ahead of Australia’s Scotty James, whose score of 96.75 was enough for second place.

Olympic champion Iouri Podladtchikov of Switzerland was not able to deliver a win in front of his home crowd as he was third with 91.75.

The result sees Chase leap to the summit of the halfpipe standings, usurping the Swiss, while Podladtchikov’s team-mate Patrick Burgener is third.

Chase has 1,600 points, 200 more than Podladtchikov.

Sixteen-year-old Kim is already one of the leading names in the sport despite her young age and showed exactly why with another excellent halfpipe performance.

The American looked in good form in qualification and was able to replicate that in the final, scoring 90.50 to secure the win in style.

The success for the United States team continued as Arielle Gold earned silver with a score of 86.50.

Third place went to Cai Xuetong of China as her routine yielded 85.25.

The victory for Kim, a three-time Winter X Games champion and double Youth Olympic Games gold medallist, was her second consecutive halfpipe triumph after she won the season’s first event in Copper Mountain last month.

She occupies top spot on the halfpipe standings but sits sixth on the overall rankings, led by Anna Gasser of Austria, who has 3,800 to her name.

The event in Laax concludes tomorrow with the men’s and women’s slopestyle finals.