United States snowboarding icon Chloe Kim made history at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics despite finishing second in the halfpipe final. The 25-year-old entered the competition as the two-time champion, having won gold at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and again at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Kim came up short for a third straight gold, though. She settled for second behind South Korea’s Choi Gaon. Kim finished with a score of 88.00, which was more than two points short of Gaon’s final score of 90.25.
Despite the second-place finish, however, Kim rewrote the history books by becoming the only female athlete to medal in three straight Olympics at the halfpipe competition.
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Kim exhibited her sportsmanship by being the first to congratulate Choi after the latter’s gold medal-clinching run. Kim decided to embrace the 17-year-old skier despite knowing full well that she had just lost out on a third straight gold medal.
In an interview on the “Today Show,” Kim shared her honest thoughts on finishing second behind her South Korean counterpart. As the true ambassador of the sport, Kim had nothing but high praise for Choi.
"It's so special," Kim said. "It's such a full-circle moment, and I was genuinely so happy for her.
"I think that it's all about the next generation now, you know. I started out being the youngest one on the start list, and now I feel like I'm one of the older ones, so it's kind of weird for me to feel that way, but no, I think the future of snowboarding is in very, very good hands."
As Kim said, she was only 17 when she won gold at the halfpipe in 2018. Choi is at the exact same age now that she dethroned Kim.
Kim recently revealed that she already has her retirement plans in place. The Long Beach, California native did not say when she intends to hang it up, though. Kim will announce her retirement decision once she is ready.