South Korean snowboarder Gaon Choi not too long ago grew to become the youngest Girls’s Snowboard SuperPipe gold medalist after successful the halfpipe occasion on the 2023 Aspen Winter X Video games in Colorado on Saturday.
Choi is six months youthful than Chloe Kim, who was 14 years and eight months previous when she received gold through the Aspen video games in 2015.
“I started snowboarding due to Chloe and now nearly being close to her stage when she was 14, it feels bizarre that I can see a chance that I’d transcend her sometime,” Choi informed reporters. “I’m already beginning to sit up for the following Olympics.”
Choi has additionally made historical past in South Korea by turning into the nation’s first Winter X Video games medalist.
Throughout her run, which was judged by general impression, Choi managed to carry out three 900s within the third of her 4 runs: a swap bottom 900 Weddle, a frontside 900 and a bottom 900 with a missed seize.
Subscribe to
NextShark’s Publication
A every day dose of Asian America’s important tales, in beneath 5 minutes.
Get our assortment of Asian America’s most important tales to your inbox every day without spending a dime.
Uncertain? Take a look at our Publication Archive.
Whereas Kim, a 2018 Olympic gold medalist, is the one feminine athlete to land back-to-back 1080s in a contest, Choi has managed to carry out the tough trick twice in her video games — though not back-to-back, like Kim.
“I’m so pleased, I’m so glad my efforts [paid off] with a giant win like this,” Choi informed Forbes. “I anticipated that I might efficiently handle a 1080, and I’m pleased I succeeded.”
A winner of the 2022 World Junior Snowboarding Championships, Choi was reportedly undefeated throughout 4 amateur-level halfpipe occasions she participated within the 2022 Worldwide Ski and Snowboard Federation Revolution Tour.
Kim and Choi have recognized one another since approach earlier than the 2023 Aspen Winter X Video games.
The Korean American snowboarder first met Choi in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2017 when Kim was competing within the 2017 Olympic check occasion. She and her father reportedly helped Choi get to america to proceed her coaching within the sport.
Posting on her Instagram Story after Choi’s history-making gold medal win, Kim, who’s taking this season off after defending her Olympics title in February 2022, reportedly wrote, “I really feel like a proud Mother. The way forward for snowboarding’s in good arms.”
Kim, 22, is hoping to return to competing on the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Video games. In the meantime, Choi is coaching for her subsequent run on the Mountain Dew Tour 2023, which begins in late February.
