Settling for Silver, Chloe Kim Is Happy to Pass the Torch to a Generation She Inspired

The superstar’s pursuit to become the first snowboarder to win three straight halfpipe gold medals was derailed by her mentee, showing the impact she’s had on the sport.

Chloe Kim (left) finished second to 17-year-old Korean phenom Choi Ga-on (center). | Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images

If this was the end for Chloe Kim—and it sure sounds like it was—then she went out her way. Not with a gold, but with a smile. Kim spent the last few years on a journey through her own mind. She decided that what she really wanted, more than winning, was control of her life. She just proved herself right.

“I wanted to do what felt good for me,” Kim said Thursday night, after earning silver in the women’s snowboard halfpipe. “Happy camper.”

If Kim needs any reminders that second place is worth celebrating, she won’t have to look far. She is dating a Cleveland Brown. But Kim doesn’t need reminders. She knows.

Kim so thoroughly dominated in 2018 and 2022 that most Americans figured she would do it again this month. Yet there she was, midway through the competition, giving a pep talk to the snowboarder most likely to beat her.

Despite a lingering shoulder injury, Kim put together a seemingly effortless first run. | Michael Reaves/Getty Images

South Korea’s Choi Ga-on crashed violently in her first run in the final. She needed several minutes to get up and leave the halfpipe. Kim has known Choi since Choi was 9, and she knows better than anybody what it feels like to devote your whole life to winning this event.  

“I went up to her and I was like, ‘You’re a really good snowboarder—you can do this!’ ” Kim said. “She showed up so clutch in her third run and won the damn thing.”

Kim had one last chance to beat Choi. It would be hard, for many reasons. In January, Kim tore the labrum in her left shoulder; the injury cost her training time, and she has said she will need surgery. Snow fell throughout the competition, making it hard to know exactly what to expect. Snowboarders were crashing all night.

Kim gave two thumbs up to the camera, took a deep breath, and nailed her last run until she didn’t. Well, it happens. Even to Chloe Kim.

“I wasn’t sure how much the conditions had changed,” she said. “Girls were hitting the deck. I didn’t know what was going on, and I didn’t want to join that train.”

She emphasized that this was not an excuse. It is the sport. She defied the literal and metaphorical laws of physics for so long that it seemed like she could do it whenever she pleased, forever. She knew she could not.

“A month ago, I wasn’t even sure if I would be here,” Kim said. “I could get emotional thinking about it.”

She then got emotional thinking about it.

“I really worked so hard to get here,” she said through tears, “and so this medal means so much to me.”

Gold … gold … silver … now what? Kim is only 25. Two of the top 10 finishers Thursday were in their 30s. Shaun White was 35 at his last Olympics. So it is entirely realistic for Kim to compete in the French Alps in 2030. But I would be stunned if she does. 

Kim told Sports Illustrated in December that she has a retirement date in mind, and she will not waver on it. She did not share that date. She did say she wanted to be a young mom, and after losing most of her childhood in halfpipes, she does not want to miss out on adulthood, too. Now listen to what she said Thursday.

“I’m aware that I can’t do this forever,” she said. “Seeing that this sport is left in very good hands. … Ga-on is the hardest working. She’s talented, but she works hard.”

She thanked the younger generation for challenging her: “I never thought I could do a double cork in my entire career. I can walk away so confident, knowing that I can do these tricks, too.”

As a child, Kim did not really see fame coming. But she did see Choi coming.

At 17 years old, Choi Ga-on became the youngest Olympic halfpipe gold medalist. | Hannah Peters/Getty Images

“The competition is going to be strong,” Kim said in December. “There's so much new talent, and I’m really excited, because I’ve known them since they’re itty-bitty, and it’s such a full-circle moment.”

Eight years ago, Kim won her first gold medal in South Korea, where her parents were born. It was the first time her grandmother saw her compete. On Thursday night, Kim beamed on the podium, silver medal around her neck, and listened to South Korea’s national anthem. That was a full-circle moment.

So many athletes cling to what was. Pride clouds their vision; insecurity keeps them from welcoming the next generation. Kim, the greatest ever in her sport, said Choi “is the hardest-working person I know.” She truly sounded as happy for Choi as she would have been for herself.

Kim’s boyfriend, Myles Garrett, was in Livigno, snapping photos with an expensive camera. Let’s hope he got the shots. The happy camper seems quite content with her career.

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