Anchor: Snowboarder Choi Ga-on clinched South Korea’s first gold medal of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, capping a remarkable comeback after a heavy crash in her opening run. The 17-year-old took the top podium with a score of 90-point-25 points in the women’s halfpipe snowboard final on Thursday at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, Italy, edging out two-time Olympic champion Chloe Kim of the United States.
Yun Sohyang has more. 

Report: South Korea’s Choi Ga-on took a frightening fall on her first run of the women’s halfpipe finals on Thursday while attempting a cab 1080. 

She caught the lip of the pipe and crashed headfirst, remaining down for several minutes before getting back on her board.

Her second run also ended early, leaving her in eleventh place out of 12 riders with just ten points from her first run.

But the 17-year-old delivered under pressure in the final run, landing a flawless performance that earned 90-point-25 points that vaulted her into the lead ahead of defending champion Chloe Kim of the U.S.

[Sound bite: Choi Ga-on – S. Korean Olympic Snowboarding Team (Korean-English)]
“First of all, this is my first Olympics and my first medal is a gold medal, so it still feels like a dream and I’m so happy.”

Speaking to KBS after her win, Choi said she couldn’t give up on her Olympic dream despite the pain in her knee.

[Sound bite: Choi Ga-on – S. Korean Olympic Snowboarding Team (Korean-English)]
“After I fell on my first run, my right knee hurt so badly I couldn’t even walk. I cried a lot because I thought this was how my Olympics were going to end. But I kept telling myself, ‘I can do this.’ So I decided to try. I started walking again, and my knee began to feel better. From then on, I just kept trying. … All the coaches tried to talk me out of it, and I was thinking about giving up as well. But I kept thinking that this is my dream, and I have to do my best. That thought became my driving force.”

With the victory, Choi not only claimed South Korea’s first gold medal of this year’s Winter Games but also became the first South Korean ever to win Olympic gold in a snow sport.

Born in November 2008, Choi is now the youngest Olympic female halfpipe champion, replacing Kim, who was 17 years and ten months old when she won at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.
Yun Sohyang, KBS World Radio News.