Choi Ga-on (Sehwa Girls High School) gave South Korea its first gold medal at the 2026 Milan·Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics. It was a dramatic come-from-behind win, overtaking Chloe Kim (USA) on her final attempt as Kim was aiming for a third consecutive title at the Games.

On the 13th at Livigno Snowpark in Italy, in the women's snowboard halfpipe final at the 2026 Milan·Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, Choi scored 90.25 on her third run to push Chloe Kim (USA, 88.00) down and take the top spot. She became the South Korean delegation's first gold medalist of these Games. It was also the first-ever Winter Olympic gold medal in Korean skiing.

Choi took a heavy fall while attempting her second jump in the first run. As her board caught on the landing, she absorbed such a big impact that she could not stand up for a while. Her chances of attempting the second and third runs looked uncertain. Ahead of the second run, the scoreboard briefly showed ‘Did Not Start’ (DNS), heightening concern about an injury. She ultimately fell again in the second run.

Up to that point, a Chloe Kim three-peat looked likely. Kim posted 88.00 in her first run to take a comfortable lead. With just 10 points from her first run, Choi was 11th among the 12 finalists.

Choi did not give up on her third run. Opting against tricks above 1080 degrees, she executed rotations such as 900s and 720s to finish the run, and earned a high 90.25 to complete the comeback.

Having failed to finish her second run and pushed down to second place, Chloe Kim went for her final, third run, but fell mid-run again and could not retake the lead.

Born in November 2008, Choi broke the record for the youngest gold medalist in this event, set by Chloe Kim at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics (17 years, 10 months), achieving it at 17 years, 3 months.