LIVIGNO, Italy – Making history didn’t come easy.
Little more than a month ago, it wasn’t clear if Team USA snowboarding star Chloe Kim would even be able to compete in the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics after dislocating her shoulder in training.
But she made it, and when she did, she still finished on the podium.
The 25-year-old Kim landed a score of 88 on her first run before crashing on the next two. It was good enough for silver. Korea’s Gaon Choi won gold after scoring a 90.25 on her final run. Japan’s Mitsuki Ono bronze with an 85.
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“I love Gaon so much. I’ve known her since she was a very small child,’ Kim said. ‘Seeing her at this big stage is such a full-circle moment. I definitely feel old, but it’s really cool to see how much she’s progressed. I met her when she literally started halfpipe snowboarding. Sometimes it feels like I’m seeing a mirror reflection of myself and my family.
“Her dad is so on top of it, her mum is also so supportive. It’s really so cool to see another Korean girl out here killing it. We’re seeing a big shift to Asians being dominant in snow sports. I’ve had aunts telling me that I shouldn’t snowboard, get a real career, focus on school. It’s cool to see that shift happening.”
The concern was real about Kim entering these Olympics, considering how much her injured shoulder had limited her training before she arrived in Livigno.
Kim said prior to the competition she hadn’t started snowboarding again until about two weeks beforehand, and her comments suggested she wasn’t sure what to expect this time.
‘It’s kind of crazy that my first (competition) of the season is the Olympics,’ Kim said on Feb. 9. ‘But we’ll figure it out. … We have a really fun (USA) squad, and I think that will help kind of stay focused and just remind myself why I’m here, which is to have fun.’
Once qualifying arrived on the Feb. 11, however, Kim looked like herself in the halfpipe. With her first run, she scored a 90.25 to finish first in the qualifying by nearly three points.
Afterward, she stressed how happy she was just to be here after the doubts of the injury.
But she also said that she hadn’t thrown her best stuff in that qualifying run, hinting as what was to come in the finals.
Kim is one of the most famous U.S. athletes in these Olympics, boasting more than a million Instagram followers and a Hollywood film credit. She’s an international celebrity. A fashion mogul.
And now, a THREE-time Olympic medalist.
