Started at age 7… results across international events
Preparing the secret weapon ‘switch back ten’ in Milan

‘Ice sports powerhouse’ Korea is quietly eyeing medals even in snow events, a traditional weak spot, at the 2026 Milan·Cortina d Ampezzo Winter Olympics. At the center is Choi Gaon (Sehwa Girls High School), born in 2008, whose presence has grown to a top-class level.

Choi Gaon will compete in the snowboard halfpipe. In the halfpipe, performed on a semi-cylindrical slope, judges score runs featuring aerial spins and jumps to decide rankings, and the sport has long been dominated by global stars such as Shaun White and Chloe Kim (both USA). In recent years, Asian athletes have also stood out, and Choi has thrown down a confident challenge.

Influenced by her father, Choi began snowboarding at age 7 and, in January 2023 before turning 15, won the pipe event at the X Games with the youngest champion record, bursting onto the international stage. In December of the same year, she claimed her first World Cup title, making her name known.

At the start of 2024, at the International Ski Federation (FIS) Snowboard World Cup in Laax, Switzerland, in the women halfpipe, she suffered a serious back injury and had to endure a long rehabilitation, but a year later she made a successful return by taking bronze at the same event. Then, in the final of the same event that ended on the 18th, she scored 92.50 points to finish first.

Her upward trajectory ahead of the Olympics is notable. The Laax World Cup victory was her third World Cup title of the season, following wins at the China and United States World Cups in December last year. This season, the Snowboard World Cup is held seven times in total, and the Laax stop was the fifth event and the last before the February Winter Olympics. Choi climbed to the top in all three World Cups she entered this season, boosting expectations for an Olympic medal.

Choi is regarded as a rival to Chloe Kim, who is aiming to become the first in Winter Olympic snowboarding to win three straight Olympic golds. Eight years older than Choi, Chloe Kim is the dominant force, having won gold in this event at the 2018 Pyeongchang and 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

After finishing the Laax World Cup, Choi said, “The Olympics are approaching now, and my confidence is rising. I feel I need to work even harder.” For these Olympics, she has prepared to showcase the ‘switch back ten’ by adding another half spin to the ‘switch back nine’, which involves launching opposite the direction of travel and spinning two and a half times.