Chloe Kim denied historic three-peat as Choi Gaon claims 'unbelievable' halfpipe gold at Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games

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Chloe Kim's bid to become the first snowboarder to win three successive Olympic gold medals in the halfpipe final at Milano Cortina 2026 fell narrowly short as Choi Gaon claimed the win with an impressive third run. Kim finished second to take the silver medal, while Japan's Mitsuki Ono settled for bronze. Watch every event of Milano Cortina 2026 live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Watch the AMAZING run that helped teenager Choi land gold ahead of Kim

Video credit: TNT Sports

Chloe Kim fell short of an historic three-peat in the halfpipe at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games as South Korean teenager Choi Gaon claimed gold.

Choi suffered a nasty fall on her opening run to briefly halt proceedings and she fell again on her second run as the debutant's hopes of landing a medal appeared to be under threat. However, the 17-year-old scored a glittering 90.25 on her third effort to surge into the lead.

Kim, the overwhelming favourite who had already secured the silver medal ahead of her final attempt, was unable to overcome Choi's lead as she also fell during her third run.

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Kim scored 88 on her opening run to throw down the gauntlet as she looked to become the first snowboarder to win three successive gold medals, having occupied the title in the discipline for the past eight years.

Her dominance finally came to an end as she was made to settle for silver, adding to the gold medals she won at PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022.

"Talk about drama under the lights, what a final," TNT Sports pundit Aimee Fuller said.

"First and foremost, Gaon Choi's horrific crash on run No. 1 - I think most athletes wouldn't be able to ride away from that. In fact, I am surprised she was even cleared by the medical [team] because she went down hard.

"Her ability to come back and, the thing is, she was down for a chunk of time. In that moment, you expect the athlete to be carried off by medical [staff].

"But she gets herself up, she goes and does her second run, she falls, so it's a complete pressure cooker. She drops in on her third and final run and takes the top spot ahead of Chloe Kim. It is unbelievable."

Fellow TNT Sports pundit Ed Drake added: "It's just what champions do, though, they step up, and they thrive off that pressure. I don't know how she even managed to do it. She could barely walk."

A run worth 85 points secured bronze for Japan's 21-year-old Mitsuki Ono, while her 16-year-old team-mate Sara Shimizu narrowly missed out on a medal at her debut Games, scoring one point less.

Japan's Rise Kudo came fifth with 81.75 points, while the Chinese duo of Cai Xuetong and Wu Shaotong finished in sixth and seventh position respectively.

Spain's 36-year-old veteran Queralt Castellet was competing at her sixth Olympic Games but could not add to the silver medal she won in Beijing as she finished 10th after a difficult showing.

'Huge crash' ends Kim dreams of three-peat as Choi, 17, takes surprise gold

Video credit: TNT Sports

Watch every event of Milano Cortina 2026 live on discovery+. Available across all subscription plans, starting at £3.99.

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