Three-Peat Bid Ends as Gaon Choi Claims Historic Women’s Halfpipe Gold

Chloe probably didn't think that the 17-year-old South Korean Gaon Choi, who she had been teaching for years, would be the one to beat her in the end. Gaon had been going to the same practice sessions as Chloe since she was a little girl. He was always the first one on the pipe and always pushing the limits. Chloe used to think, "She's going to be special," as she watched her. It turns out she was right.

From the very beginning, the final was brutal. Gaon overshot a huge air, landed wrong on the deck, and fell on her first run. Her knees gave out, and her board hit the lip, sending her crashing to the bottom. The music stopped. The crowd stopped talking. A stretcher came out. It took a long five minutes. Then, by some miracle, Gaon made herself stand up, brushed the snow off her jacket, and rode down by herself. Later, she said that she just gritted her teeth, told herself that her legs were still working, and kept trying. You could tell everything about her fight from that one moment.

Chloe was the first woman to ever land the clean Cab double-cork 1080 technique in a competition, and she started with a perfect run. She got the best seat. The second round was a mess for almost everyone, even Gaon. The dynasty would go on after Chloe won gold and maybe even did some cool double corks for fun. It looked like the script had already been written.

But scripts aren't used in snowboarding. In the last round, the pipe slowed down because of the new powder, so Gaon jumped in and gave her the ride of her life. Three huge 900s, each coming from a different direction, land perfectly. When the score of 90.25 came up, the place went wild. Chloe had one last question to answer. That wasn't what she needed. The wall felt sticky because the snow was getting thicker. She fell on the landing after trying to do the double cork too early. The game is done.

Silver, not gold. At two, a dynasty came to an end. Chloe didn't seem sad after that. She looked proud. She treated Gaon like a little sister, called her "my baby," and said that when she came out in PyeongChang at age 15, she finally understood how her own mentors felt. Over and over, she said, "I'm so damn proud of her." She talked about how she had helped start the fire and how inspiring it was to see the next generation rise. Even though the sport can be boring and lonely, giving the torch to someone she really loves made the night feel like a win.

Let's be honest: three-peating was never a sure thing. The women's halfpipe has changed a lot in a short amount of time. Asian riders, especially those from Korea and Japan, have been doing cleaner combos and bigger spins every season. Chloe said that for a short time, she lost interest in the sport. It started to feel pointless to keep doing the same tricks and winning in the same way. She was excited to try new things when she got back, like double corks and 1440s. The shoulder problem took away their confidence and time to practice. She was nervous even just going through the flat bottom. It left a mark on my mind.

There hasn't been a three-time Olympic champion in snowboarding yet. Ester Ledecka crashed out of the parallel giant slalom early on. Anna Gasser jumped into the air. Jamie Anderson's slopestyle run in Beijing was overshadowed by pandemic sadness. Shaun White's personal attempt to win three times in a row in Sochi failed. Shaun was there on Thursday night, freezing in a USA jacket. He was with Chloe's boyfriend Myles Garrett and even Snoop Dogg, who had a picture of Chloe on his clothes. Shaun just shook his head when it was over and said, "It's a crazy sport." You could get hurt. Someone can learn a new trick in one night. You can never be sure. He is right. That's why we love it so much.

Chloe left with a silver brace on her shoulder and a lot of perspective. She is 25 years old right now. This is the second time she's done it. She knows that the ride won't last long. At this point in her career, after two Olympic golds already and years of dominating the halfpipe, the pressure of chasing history had been building quietly, but the injury forced her to confront it all head-on. The brace was a constant reminder of how fragile even the greatest runs can be, yet it also symbolized her grit—she pushed through qualifiers and the final with limited prep, still landing that clean Cab double-cork 1080 early on. Now, standing on the podium with silver around her neck, she could finally exhale. The dynasty she'd built wasn't ending in defeat; it was evolving. Watching Gaon Choi step onto the top podium spot, tears in her eyes as she waved those Korean flags high, Chloe felt a rush of something deeper than disappointment—genuine joy mixed with relief. This wasn't just a loss; it was the sport doing what it does best: rewarding the bold, the resilient, the next wave ready to take over. She had mentored Gaon for years, shared sessions, offered tips, watched her grow from a wide-eyed kid into this fearless 17-year-old champion who just made history as Korea's first snowboarding gold medalist. The queen was very happy with the person who got the crown after it was given to her.

Gaon Choi stuns mentor Chloe Kim to win women's halfpipe gold, denying historic three-peat at 2026 Olympics.

In a dramatic final under falling snow at Livigno Snow Park, 17-year-old South Korean Gaon Choi rebounded from a scary first-run crash to post a 90.25 on her third run, overtaking Chloe Kim's strong opening 88.00. Kim, battling a recent shoulder dislocation and brace, fell on her final attempt at a cab double-cork 1080, securing silver while Japan's Mitsuki Ono took bronze.

Kim, the two-time defending champion, embraced the moment as a passing of the torch to her longtime protégé Choi, who became the first South Korean to win Olympic snowboarding gold. Despite the disappointment of missing a three-peat, Kim expressed deep pride in Choi's resilience and the sport's evolving future.