Snowboarder Gaon Choi crashes twice but then wins women's halfpipe
John LeuzziSouth Korea snowboarder Gaon Choi took two hard hits in her first two runs of the women's halfpipe finals at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
Her third run led her to Olympic gold.
Choi posted a 90.25 in her third run at the Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, Italy, which was good enough to stop USA's Chloe Kim from winning a historic third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the event. Kim did not finish her second or third runs after falling.
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Choi's first crash came as she was coming down on her second trick. Choi hit the lip and took a hard crash down to the ground. Choi was one of several riders to take a hit and crash in the first run of Thursday's medal event, with weather conditions not ideal for riders due to snowfall.
She was tended to for a few minutes down on the course before she got up on her own power and went off the course, according to USA TODAY Sports' Chris Bumbaca.
Choi's second run did not go well, either, as she didn't finish it as she went down after going up on the first wall. NBC's broadcast initially mentioned that Choi was pulling herself out of the race, but then she immediately changed course.
Only five snowboarders, including Kim, put runs down on the first run, with the others crashing. Kim posted a score of 88.00 on the run.
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