Choi Ga-on, 'Hope of Korean Snowboard' Wins 3 consecutive World Cups... "I'm gaining confidence in the Olympics"

*This content was translated by AI.

Choi Ga-on (18, Sehwa Girls' High School) won her third win of the season at the International Ski Federation (FIS) Snowboard World Cup. Expectations are rising with the best momentum ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina D'Ampezzo Winter Olympics.

Choi Gaon ranked first with 92.50 points in the women's halfpipe final of the 2025-2026 FIS Snowboard World Cup in Rocks, Switzerland on the 18th (Korea Standard Time).

It's a scary uptrend. Choi Ga-on, who won the World Cup in China and the U.S. in December last year, won the title for the third time this season. A total of seven snowboarding World Cups have been held this season, and this was the fifth edition of the Rocks World Cup. Choi Ga-on was amazing in reaching the top of all three World Cups he played in.

Snowboard halfpipe is a competition in which referees score and rank aerial performances on inclined semi-cylindrical slopes. It is an event that requires perfect technology without failure. As not a single mistake is allowed, only better scores are reflected in the first and second periods.

Choi Ga-on, who finished first with 96.5 points in the preliminary round held two days ago, had difficulties in the first period. It failed to succeed in the originally intended technology and only scored 21.25 points.

In the second period, he completely recovered. He scored outstanding points by successively succeeding in Switchback Seven (two turns from the opposite direction of driving), Backside Nine (two and a half turns from the air), and Front Side Ten (three turns from the air in the direction of driving).

In second place was Kudo Rise (Japan), who scored 82.75 points, showing a nearly 10-point gap. This shows how outstanding Choi Ga-on's momentum is.

Choi Ga-on, who won the last World Cup ahead of the Milan-Cortina D'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, which will open on February 6, is the highest expectation that will bring Olympic expectations, which are focused only on the ice sheet.

Choi Ga-on said through his management company All That Sports, "I'm so happy to win three consecutive tournaments following the World Cup in China and the U.S.," adding, "The Olympics are coming up and I'm gaining more confidence. I think I should work harder," he said.

This gold medal is even more meaningful. Choi Ga-on, who had undergone rehabilitation for nearly a year after seriously injuring his back in 2024, returned from the competition last year to win a bronze medal, and this time won the competition that caused him pain, completely wiping out the trauma of the Rocks Nightmare.

The person who will threaten Choi Ga-on the most at the Olympics is Chloe Kim (U.S.), the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic gold medalist and Korean American. Coincidentally, when he won Pyeongchang eight years ago, his age is now the same as Choi Ga-on.

Chloe Kim won her second consecutive Olympic title until Beijing in 2022 following the PyeongChang competition, but has recently been struggling to manage her condition after injuring her shoulder. It raises expectations with a head-to-head match between the rising sun and the approaching sun.

Attention is focusing on whether Chloe Kim will be able to win three consecutive Olympics for the first time in the history of snowboarding, or whether Choi Ga-on will be a stage to announce the birth of a new Empress.

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*This content was translated by AI.