South Korean teenage sensation Gaon Choi returned from a first-run crash to spoil mentor Chloe Kim's Olympic halfpipe three-peat Thursday night in an epic snowboard shocker under the lights and snow flurries of Italy at the 2026 Winter Games.
Choi fell hard in her opening run by clipping the pipe deck upon re-entry on a cab 1080 attempt, then fell again on her second run, landing low on an initial switch backside 900 hit. But in her final run, she threw down a massive rebate with a 90.25 to overtake Kim for the lead.
"I cried because I thought I wouldn't be able to compete," Choi said. "But the thought kept coming back to me: 'You can do this. You have to go on' [and] that's what pushed me forward."
Kim, riding with an injured shoulder, had a chance to reclaim the crown as the competition's final rider, but landed a little low and fell on a cab double cork 1080 — a trick she'd hit twice earlier in the night — to finish with 88.00 for silver.
Immediately after her final run, Kim found Choi and gave her a big hug.
"I’ve known Gaon since she was little," Kim said. "She won her first Olympic gold medal at the same age as I did. It’s such a full-circle moment."
Japan placed 3rd through 5th, with Mitsuki Ono scoring an 85.00 to take home bronze, one point ahead of teammate Sara Shimizu. Meanwhile, Kim's teammates Maddie Mastro and Bea Kim (no relation) wound up 8th and 12th.
Choi is the first South Korean woman to win an Olympic snowboarding gold. At 17 years, 101 days old, she's also the youngest snowboarding Games champion, breaking American Red Gerard's mark of 17 years, 227 days.
"It's the kind of story you only see in dreams, so I'm incredibly happy it happened today," Choi said.
In mid-January, Chloe Kim tore the labrum in her left shoulder while training in Switzerland — an injury she said she'll need surgery for — but it didn't seem to affect her in Italy while wearing a stabilizing brace.
"I feel amazing," she said. "It wasn’t looking too good for me a month ago, and I’ve hardly gotten to practice, so the fact that I was able to come out tonight, all this pressure in the world and land a run, I’m just so proud of myself."
The 25-year-old Californian had a chance to become the first snowboarder to win three straight golds at the Games, a feat not even Shaun White accomplished, but came up short. Czechia's Ester Ledecka and Austria's Anna Gasser also had chances to reach the milestone at these Games, but neither did; Ledecka went out in the quarterfinals of parallel giant slalom and Gasser finished 8th in big air.
"I wish I had that picture-perfect moment where I had all the training I wanted to. I wish I wasn’t injured. I wish I could have landed the run I wanted to out here, but it’s life and I’m so proud of myself for dealing with all these variables and still coming out and giving it my best," Kim said.
On her second run, Kim tried to hit back-to-back double cork 1080s, which would have been a first-ever in a women's halfpipe competition.
Choi burst onto the scene in early 2023 after winning X Games at age 14, breaking Kim's record as the youngest X Games halfpipe champion by roughly six months. Afterward, Kim said, “I feel like a proud mom. … The future of snowboarding’s in good hands.”
In a lot of ways, Choi probably wouldn't be in the Olympics without Kim. She began snowboarding at age 7, and a couple years later, met Kim at a 2017 Olympic test event in PyeongChang. That connection led Kim and her father to help bring Choi to the U.S. to train with the Mammoth Mountain development team under Ben Wisner, who coaches Bea Kim and Mastro. Choi has said she's inspired by Kim, and that watching her mentor win gold in 2018 made her "realize how significant the Olympics Games [are]."
"I’m so proud of [Choi]," Kim said. "It’s all part of the sport. It’s all about inspiring the next generation. It’s all about passing the torch.
"There’s no one else I would have rather stood next to on the podium than her. I’m so proud of her, and I’m so excited to see what she does next."
Women's Snowboard Halfpipe Final
🥇 Goan Choi, South Korea (90.25)
🥈 Chloe Kim, United States (88.00)
🥉 Mitsuki Ono, Japan (85.00)
4. Sara Shimizu, Japan (84.00)
5. Rise Kudo, Japan (81.75)
6. Cai Xuetong, China (80.75)
7. Wu Shaotong, China (78.00)
8. Bea Kim, United States (77.00)
9. Sena Tomita, Japan (68.25)
10. Queralt Castellet Ibanez, Spain (33.50)
11. Elizabeth Hosking, Canada (27.50)
12. Maddie Mastro, United States (5.50)