Teen snowboarder Choi Gaon has claimed her third World Cup victory of the season, further solidifying her status as a medal contender at the Winter Olympics in Italy next month. Choi won the women's halfpipe title at the latest International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) World Cup event in Laax, Switzerland, on Saturday (local time), with a score of 92.50 points. Rise Kudo of Japan finished second with 82.75 points, and Cai Xuetong of China took third place with 75.25 points. Choi, 17, had earlier won World Cup crowns in China and the United States in December. In the final, the boarders each had two runs down the halfpipe, and the better score of those two runs determined the final standings. They were judged on degrees of difficulty, height and execution of their moves. Choi took a heavy fall in the first run and only scored 21.25 points but brushed it off to post the highest score in the final with a series of well-executed tricks in the second run. Choi started her winning performance with a switch backside 720 stalefish -- taking off while riding in an opposite stance and complet