Seventeen-year-old Choi Ga-on delivered a stunning upset at the Winter Olympics, denying Chloe Kim a historic third consecutive halfpipe gold medal. Competing in heavy snow in Livigno, the South Korean snowboarder overcame an early brutal fall to score 90.25 points on her final run.

Kim, 25, had been aiming to become the first snowboarder to win three straight Olympic titles. Despite a dislocated shoulder and torn labrum from a training accident last month, she qualified with 90.25 points. Her opening run of 88.00 in the final put her in gold medal position until Choi's decisive performance.

Japan's Mitsuki Ono took bronze with 85.00 points. The victory marks a remarkable journey for Choi, who first met Kim at a 2017 test event. Kim and her father had helped Choi train in the United States, making the defeat particularly poignant. At just 14, Choi had already broken Kim's record as the youngest X Games superpipe champion in 2023.