Chloe Kim Falls Short of Olympic History

Chloe Kim was hoping for a spectacular final run to make history at the Olympics, but things didn’t go as planned.

The American snowboarding star fell during her last two runs in the halfpipe at Milan’s Livigno Snowpark on Thursday. Instead of clinching a third consecutive title and becoming the first ever to do so, she ended up with a silver medal.

Just 25 years old, the California native was surpassed in the final round by 17-year-old Choi Ga-on from South Korea, who snatched the gold medal.

Kim, who quickly rose to fame after winning gold at the PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022 Games, was aiming to match men’s snowboarding legend Shaun White’s record of three Olympic golds—though he didn’t achieve three in a row either.

With her boyfriend, NFL star Myles Garrett, cheering her on, Kim started strong with her first run, scoring an 88.00 with a switch double cork 1080. This put her in the lead among the 12 finalists. But her best run wasn’t enough; Choi took the lead with a score of 90.25 on her third and final attempt.

2026 Winter Olympics

Interestingly, Kim nearly missed out on the Milan-Cortina tournament after hurting her shoulder during practice in Switzerland last month. However, following a medical evaluation, she managed to secure a score of 90.25 in the qualifying rounds, finishing first out of 24 competitors.

Reflecting on her shoulder injury, she said earlier this week, “It hasn’t popped out once since the accident, which is great. I feel like I’m heading in the right direction. However, I will need surgery after this event. But I feel great.”

She added, “I’m just going to do what I came here to do. If they decide to give it to me, that’s great. But I’m really grateful to be in a position to win all these events multiple times. The fact that I can come here and ride and be confident is all I could ask for.”