Winter Olympics: Chloe Kim Makes History After Winning Gold Medal at 2022 Games

By Brian Jones

Chloe Kim is already an Olympic legend at 21 years old. The superstar snowboarder competed in the women's halfpipe finals of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on Wednesday and won the gold medal. And with her winning gold at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, Kim is the first woman to win back-to-back gold medals in the event. Kim also gave the United States its second gold medal in the Winter Olympics. Snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis gave the U.S, its first gold medal when she game in first in the women's snowboardcross event.

"I'm not gonna lie, I had probably one of the worst practices I've ever had which does not put you in a good place mentally, especially out here. So I was dealing with all sorts of emotions, self-doubt, but when I was getting ready to drop into my first run, I just reminded myself it's a brand new run and I just have to land it now. I'm so happy I was able to do that," Kim told NBC after winning, per PEOPLE. 

It was the first run that got Kim the medal. In that run, Kim landed frontside 10 and cab 10 tricks, leading to a score of 94. "I probably landed my run twice (in practice) when I'm used to landing it eight times, normally, and so that puts you in a weird headspace ... I overflowed with emotion when I was able to land it on the first go, and it opened up a lot of opportunities for me to go try something new," Kim said, per CNN. 

Kim fell in the second and third runs but went for riskier tricks due to her strong first run. Her 94 score was enough to beat silver medalist Queralt Castellet from Spain (90.25) and bronze medalist Sena Tomita from Japan (88.25). "I'm in a much better headspace," Kim told NBC. "I have a much better idea of what to expect and I'm so eager to see my loved ones, my family, my dog, my boyfriend, so I think that will keep me happy and I'm just going to feel all the feelings."   

Kim was only 17 years old when she won her first gold medal in the Olympics, becoming the youngest woman to win an Olympics snowboarding gold medal. She also won gold at the same event in the 2019 and 2021 World Championships. 

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