By Emmanuel Bobby
U.S. snowboarding star Chloe Kim is on the brink of history as she prepares to compete in the women’s snowboard halfpipe final Thursday at Livigno Snow Park. Already a gold medalist from PyeongChang in 2018 and Beijing in 2022, Kim could become the first snowboarder ever to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals in the event.
“I’m just going to do what I came here to do, and if they decide to give it to me, then awesome,” Kim said this week. “I’m really just grateful to be in the position where I’ve won all these events multiple times. The fact that I’m able to be here, riding and feeling confident, is all I can ask for.”
The 25-year-old nearly missed the Milan Cortina Games after suffering a shoulder injury during a training run in Switzerland last month. Cleared to compete just in time, Kim showed no signs of slowing down, finishing first out of 24 riders in Wednesday’s qualifying round with a score of 90.25.
Her shoulder, Kim said, is feeling “pretty good” heading into the final.
“It hasn’t popped out since it happened, which is awesome,” she said. “I feel like it’s trending in the right direction. I will need surgery after this event, though, but it feels really good.”
Widely regarded as the most accomplished women’s snowboarder in history, Kim won Olympic gold at age 17, becoming the youngest woman to do so in the sport. She is also a three-time world champion and an eight-time X Games champion.
Standing in her way are Japan’s Sara Shimizu and fellow American Maddie Mastro, who finished second and third in the qualifying round.
Kim said she is proud of pushing through injuries and uncertainty to put herself in position to contend for gold once again.
“I’m just happy to be here because a couple of months ago it wasn’t looking too certain,” she said. “I’m stoked that I was able to make it out and get through qualifiers.
“I’m really happy with who I’ve become,” she added. “Going into these Games, I felt really at ease and calm. I know what I’m here to do.”
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