An 18-year-old Korean genius snowboarder who is a 'fractured fighting spirit gold' even fell in love with the beauty of Korea. Choi Gaon's '13 Olympic Stars' Selection [Milan Olympics]

*This content was translated by AI.

The U.S. also fell in love with Korea's genius girl. Choi Ga-on (18, Sehwa Girls' High School), who beat legendary snowboard star Chloe Kim (USA) to win Korea's first gold medal in snow sports at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina D'Ampezzo, was recognized as the best rising star of the competition.

NBC, the host broadcaster of the U.S. Olympics, announced on the 22nd (Korea time) the "13 Rising Stars Who Shined out the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics." "One of the most beautiful parts of the Olympics is watching new stars rise to stardom," the media said, introducing Choi Ga-on as a major figure. Choi Ga-on is the only Asian to be included in the list, showing off his unrivaled presence.

Choi Gaon's gold medal was more than just a victory. Choi Ga-on's physical condition, which was confirmed after the end of the competition, was shocking. On the 19th, Choi Ga-on posted the phrase "3 fractures" on his personal social network service (SNS) along with a photo of him undergoing a thorough examination at a hospital. It was belatedly revealed that he pushed ahead with the game even with three broken bones at the time of winning the gold medal.

Choi Ga-on wrote the all-time drama in the women's snowboard halfpipe final at Lvigno Snowpark in Italy on the 13th. In the first period of the final round, Choi Ga-on got up on his own and got back on the board after he fell hard during the landing and hit his head, but he couldn't stand up for a while due to a strong shock.

In the second period, he also made a slip mistake and was in crisis, but Choi Ga-on did not give up. In the final third period, Choi Ga-on, who endured the pain of breaking a bone and succeeded all his skills perfectly, scored 90.25 points, beating Chloe Kim (88.00 points) to win a dramatic come-from-behind victory.

With this, Choi Ga-on broke Chloe Kim's record for the youngest gold medal (17 years and 10 months) set at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games by about seven months, at the age of 17 years and three months. "NBC" praised Choi Ga-on's victory as "the top 10 best moments in the first half," saying, "He was the only opponent that could prevent Chloe Kim from losing three consecutive games."

Meanwhile, 'NBC' introduced in detail figures who have become world-class stars through this competition in addition to Choi Ga-on.

In Alpine skiing, Bridge Johnson of the U.S. was named. After giving the U.S. its first gold medal in alpine skiing on the 8th, Johnson announced his engagement on the spot four days later, drawing attention. Franzo von Almen (Switzerland) also emerged as the new emperor of the skiing world, winning three gold medals in five days, including downhill, team compound, and super competitions, in his first Olympics.

Utah Leyrdam (the Netherlands) was chosen for the ice skating event. Leyrdam enjoyed explosive popularity, with more than 1 million social media followers exploding in a day immediately after winning the gold medal in the 1,000m with an Olympic record. Jens Vant Bout, who won three gold medals, including the first gold medal in Dutch short track history, was also listed as a rising star.

In figure skating, Alyssa Ryu of the U.S. drew attention. Ryu became the first female U.S. athlete to win an individual gold medal in Olympic figure skating since 2002, establishing her U.S. figure skating pride. In addition, the list included Slovenia's Prevts brothers and biathlon star Stula Holm Regrade (Norway), whose four siblings all became Olympic medalists.

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*This content was translated by AI.