Winter Olympics 2026: Chloe Kim denied third snowboarding halfpipe gold by Choi Ga-on

It felt like the moment the baton was passed on.

Chloe Kim, the greatest women’s halfpipe snowboarder, and Choi Ga-on, the young protege, standing side by side on the podium.

It was expected to be a procession for American Kim to win a third consecutive Winter Olympic gold, a feat no snowboarder has ever achieved. And yet it was 17-year-old Choi on the top step.

The South Korean had defied a brutal fall in her opening run to score 90.25 points on her final attempt, a total 25-year-old Kim could not better.

It was, as Kim told BBC Sport, a “full circle moment”.

The two had met nine years ago, at a test event in Pyeongchang before the 2018 Games in which Kim, then also aged 17, would announce herself on a global stage with her first Olympic gold.

Realising her potential, Kim and her father helped Choi to travel to the United States to train.

Kim’s father, who is from South Korea, was one of the first to embrace Choi and her emotional team after her Olympic gold was confirmed.

“She’s someone I’ve known since she was little,” said Kim.

“It’s such a full circle moment seeing her from when she was so young to now standing next to her on the Olympic podium.”