Winter Olympics 2026: Chloe Kim stunned in halfpipe final

LIVIGNO, Italy — Chloe Kim’s reign as the Olympic halfpipe champion is over in stunning fashion.

South Korea’s Gaon Choi, after scary falls on her first two runs, came back with a monster score of 90.25 to jump in front of Kim, whose 88.00 on the first run looked for a long time like it would hold up as riders struggled with difficult, slick, snowy conditions.

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That put Kim under pressure to deliver on her last opportunity, trying to become the first snowboarder to win three straight gold medals.

She was unable to do it, falling on her third run and settling for silver. Japan’s Mitsuki Ono took bronze.

The 17-year-old Choi was considered the biggest threat to Kim in this event and proved to be a superstar on the Olympic stage. She won X Games gold in the event as a 14-year-old, so her win Thursday did not come out of nowhere. It did, however, come after a brutal fall on her first run that required medical attention at the bottom of the halfpipe. She was able to navigate down the hill under her own power, and continue.

Another fall on her second run set up her dramatic rise to the top on her final attempt.

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Choi, 17 years and 101 days old, is now the youngest snowboarding gold medalist in history after Thursday’s win. American snowboarder Red Gerard previously held the record when he won the 2018 slopestyle at 17 years and 227 days old.

If Kim was disappointed, it did not show on the medal stand, a smile beaming as she accepted silver for the first time. She won gold in PyeongChang in 2018 as a 17-year-old, then backed it up with another brilliant performance in Beijing.

Here in Italy, she was on the cusp of winning a third straight, something not even the great Shaun White was able to do. The gold looked to be hers through two runs, until Choi threw down the run of her life.