Chloe Kim claimed one of three US halfpipe golds today ©Lillehammer 2016

A first British Winter Youth Olympic gold was the only blip on a day of American halfpipe dominance at Lillehammer 2016, with the Stars and Stripes flag raised after three of the four freestyle skiing and snowboarding events. 

Chloe Kim, a two-times X-Games champion who carried the United States flag at the Opening Ceremony, struck first with victory in the women's halfpipe snowboard final.

Her total of 96.50 saw her end-up a whopping 6.50 points clear of her nearest challenger, Australian Flagbearer Emily Arthur, who won silver 22 years after Australia won their first ever Winter Olympic medal here at Lillehammer 1994 with bronze in the short track speed skating relay.

Jeong Yu-rim of South Korea claimed the final place on the podium today with 84.50.

Jake Pates soon made it a US male and female double with a haul of 93.00 points to claim victory.

Domination continued with silver for team-mate Nikolas Baden, who scored 85.25, while Tit Stante of Slovenia took bronze with 80.25.

Birk Irving made it a golden treble with ski-cross victory despite the 15-year-old recording a "DNS" in the third run.

His score of 93.00 in his second was enough to clinch the title ahead of Finn Bilous, New Zealand's Flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony, with 92.20, and Norway's Trym Sunde Andreassen, who scored a distant 80.20.

Birk Irving (centre) claimed the third US gold of the day ©Getty Images
Birk Irving (centre) claimed the third US gold of the day ©Getty Images

Britain's Madison Rowlands broke the trend with women's ski halfpipe victory, with a score of 88.60 proving enough to win ahead of US challenger Paula Cooper, who managed 79.00, and Austria's Lara Wolf, with 74.20.

“I am so stoked,” she said of her success.

"“I honestly couldn’t be happier.

"When I called home, my family were all crying.”

It marked the first British Winter Youth Olympic gold after a bobsleigh silver for Mica McNeill and Jazmin Sawyers at Innsbruck 2012 and the first Olympic gold medal on snow at any Games.

Madison Rowlands claimed British halfpipe snowboard victory ©Getty Images
Madison Rowlands claimed British halfpipe snowboard victory ©Getty Images

Latvia's Kristers Aparjods claimed the first gold medal on offier in luge after setting the two fastest times of the competition for a combined time of 1:35.309.

Paul-Lukas Heider of Germany and Canadian Reid Watts took silver and bronze in respective times of 1:35.955 and 1:35.994.

Russia's Evgenii Petrov, lying second after run one, fell to sixth overall after an error-strewn second.

Twelve more sets of medals will be won tomorrow, including two more in luge and two in figure skating.