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MILAN — U.S. snowboarding star Chloe Kim is on the verge of history when she competes in the final of the women’s snowboard halfpipe on Thursday at Livigno Snow Park. With top honors in the event at both PyeongChang in 2018 and Beijing in 2022, she would become the first snowboarder to claim three straight gold medals.
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“I’m just going to do what I came here to do, and if they decide to give it to me, then awesome,” she said this week. “But I’m really just grateful to be in the position where I’ve won all these events multiple times. The fact that I’m able to be here and riding and being confident is all I can ask for.”
Kim, 25, nearly missed the Milan Cortina Games entirely when she suffered a shoulder injury during a training run last month in Switzerland. But after being cleared to compete, she hasn’t missed a beat, taking the top spot out of 24 riders in Wednesday’s qualifying with a score of 90.25.
She said her shoulder is feeling “pretty good” heading into Thursday’s final.
“It hasn’t popped out since it happened, which is awesome,” she said. “I feel like it’s trending towards the right direction. I will need surgery after this event, though. But it feels really good.”
Kim is considered the biggest women’s snowboarding star in the sport’s history. In 2018, at just 17 years old, she became the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding gold medal. She is also a three-time world champion and eight-time X Games champion.
Looking to prevent her from making history are Sara Shimizu of Japan and fellow American Maddie Mastro, who took second and third, respectively, in the qualifying round.
Kim said she’s proud of herself for persevering through the recent injuries and putting herself in a position to claim gold once again.
“I’m just happy to be here because for a little bit, a couple of months ago, it wasn’t looking too certain,” she said. “So I’m stoked that I was able to make it out and make it through qualifiers.
“I’m really happy with who I’ve become,” she added. “Going into these Games, I felt really at ease and calm. I know what I’m here to do.”
Greg Rosenstein is the sports editor for NBC News Digital.
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