After the first shock → "I thought I should give up," the world was surprised by the miracle of Choi Ga-on [Milan Olympics]

*This content was translated by AI.

"I thought if I should give up the Olympics here."

I wasn't sure myself. After the first period of the head-to-head shock, he lost confidence himself. He also fell in the second period. So it was even more surprising.

Choi Gaon won the gold medal with 90.25 points in the women's halfpipe final at the 2026 Milan/Cortina D'Ampezzo Winter Olympics held at Lvigno Snowpark in Italy on the 13th (Korea time), beating Chloe Kim (28, USA).

It is the first gold medal in the history of the Korean Winter Olympics. In Pyeongchang in 2018, Lee Sang-ho (31, Nexen Wyngaard) presented his first medal to the Korean snow scene, and snowboard alpine Kim Sang-gyeom (37, High1), and snowboard alpine Yoo Seung-eun (18, Sungbok High School) won silver and bronze medals, respectively, and Choi Ga-on performed a golden performance to mark the heyday of Korean snowboarding.

The Athletic in the United States introduced Choi Gaon's tremendous twist story and admired it as "an incredible resilience and skill of a 17-year-old girl."

It was a game where the viewers were lifted up and down. Choi Ga-on, who had to cling to rehabilitation for a year after surgery due to a fatal back injury, was the top candidate for the gold medal after returning to the top of the World Cup for three consecutive years, but finished the preliminary round in sixth place.

In the first period of the day, he created a dizzying situation during the landing process in the second jump cap double 1080 (three turns). The board got stuck on the lip and fell headfirst. The scene fell into silence in an instant. Patrol approached and examined Choi Ga-on's condition for a long time, but he couldn't get up for a long time. In the second period, he fell again from the first jump.

According to the BBC, Choi Ga-on also said, "After the first attempt, I cried really hard. I thought I should give up the Olympics here, he said. "I cried because I didn't think I could compete. But I can do it. I kept thinking, "I have to keep going." That thought pushed me forward," he explained.

Chloe Kim scored 88 in the first period and no one easily reached that level. Choi Ga-on, who played in the final third period, diagnosed himself coolly even though it was his first Olympics. Instead of proprietary technology that rotates three times, he decided to look for opportunities with stable choices such as Switch Back 900, Cap 720, and Front Side 900. Choi Ga-on, who used his technique perfectly and even landed neatly this time, was satisfied with himself. Choi Ga-on, who did his best, also followed the results. The highest score of 90.25 was recorded on the electronic display, and Choi Ga-on burst into tears.

Choi Gaon said, "It's like a story you can only see in your dreams. "I'm really, really happy," he said. "It was really hard mentally in the final. But this is the happiest moment in the world. My knees are a little bad, but I'm overcoming everything with happiness," he said.

Chloe Kim slipped in the last period, confirming Choi Ga-on's victory. Choi Ga-on, who became the main character of the gold medal, roared and approached his family. Tears poured down once again.

Overseas, more weight was placed on Chloe Kim's failure to lose three consecutive games. The BBC said, "17-year-old Choi Ga-on and Chloe Kim stopped three consecutive historic halfpipes," adding, "It was like the moment the baton was handed over." Choi Ga-on stood on the podium alongside Chloe Kim.

Even after Choi Ga-on's victory was decided by his mistake, Chloe Kim approached Choi Ga-on and congratulated him for a long time, and he also took care of Choi Ga-on at the awards ceremony, and The Athletic said, "Chloe Kim showed sportsmanship by hugging Choi Ga-on, who beat her and blocked her from winning three gold medals in a row. It was Chloe Kim's elegant appearance."

"Choi Ga-on is a player I've known since I was young," Chloe Kim said, congratulating her, "It's really refreshing to see a child I've known since childhood standing next to me on the Olympic podium."

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*This content was translated by AI.