American snowboarder Chloe Kim finished second behind South Korea’s Ga-on Choi to claim silver on Feb. 12 at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.

Choi, 17, became the youngest gold medalist at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and South Korea’s first gold medalist in snowboarding. Kim, 25, became the first woman to win multiple gold medals in snowboard halfpipe in the 2022 Beijing Olympics. 

She aimed to become the first woman to win three gold medals and the first snowboarder to win three consecutive halfpipe gold medals. 

Choi fell on first attempt and tried to generate speed out of the pipe, but landed wrong on the halfpipe’s lip. 

She laid on the floor and needed medical attention, but she got up on her own and intended to continue. On the second attempt, she fell on the first trick, which left her with a score of 10.00 before the third round. 

After the second round, Kim led with a score of 88.0. She achieved this score on her first attempt after landing a backside 720 and a double cork 1080. On Kim’s second attempt, she aimed to beat her first score but fell near the end of her run. 

With a score of 10 before her last attempt, Choi went out and hit multiple backside 900s and frontside 720s with an average height of nine feet and nine inches. The judges gave her a score of 90.25, which meant that she overtook Kim, who had one attempt remaining.  

Prior to Kim’s last run, she and Choi had already secured silver or gold, so it all came down to who would take the gold medal. 

While attempting her third trick, Kim tried a double cork but fell upon landing, letting Choi become the first Korean representative to win an Olympic gold medal in snowboarding. 

Following her fall, Kim took it with a smile and was visibly happy. She hugged Choi, who shed tears of joy. According to X Games, Kim, who is Korean-American, has been Choi’s mentor and inspiration. Kim and her father also helped bring Choi to Mammoth Mountain in California to develop.  

Kim’s boyfriend, NFL star Myles Garrett, was in attendance to watch the snowboard halfpipe. The Defensive Player of the Year in 2025 was cheering on Kim and was seen with a full camera setup on the sideline. 

The future of snowboarding is looking bright with Choi. The Korean has four World Cup wins, one X game gold and one Olympic gold before turning 18. 

She is currently scheduled to compete in the Snow League in Aspen on Feb. 27, while Kim has no immediate schedule announced.