American snowboarding superstar Chloe Kim faces a major hurdle in her quest for a historic third straight Olympic gold medal after dislocating her shoulder in a training accident.
Training Fall Puts Olympic Dream in Jeopardy
The 25-year-old champion revealed the injury on Thursday, describing it as "the silliest fall" during a practice session in Laax, Switzerland. Kim posted a video of the incident, which showed her tumbling in the halfpipe and sliding across the snow. The accident occurred as she prepared for the Laax Open, a key Olympic tune-up event scheduled for next weekend.
Kim did not specify which shoulder was injured but stated she is "trying to stay optimistic" about competing at the Winter Olympics in Italy next month. However, she admitted, "I don't have much clarity now." A scheduled MRI on Friday is expected to reveal the full extent of the damage.
History-Making Bid on the Line
This injury threatens to derail one of the premier storylines of the Milan Cortina Games. Chloe Kim is attempting to become the first action-sports athlete to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals. While fellow American snowboarder Shaun White also won three golds, his victories were spread across five Olympic appearances.
Kim burst onto the global stage as a teenager at the 2018 PyeongChang Games, winning gold in her parents' home country of South Korea. She successfully defended her title four years later in Beijing. Throughout her career, her dominance in the women's halfpipe has been nearly absolute.
Her technical prowess is unmatched. She made history two years ago at the Winter X Games by becoming the first woman to land a 1260-degree spin in competition. Previously, she was the first woman to complete a double-cork 1080 and to land back-to-back 1080s.
Race Against the Olympic Clock
The timing of this injury creates a significant challenge. The Olympic women's halfpipe qualifying round is set for February 11. Even with a positive prognosis from her upcoming MRI, Kim may be forced to skip the Laax Open final. This could mean heading to the Olympics without having competed in a final this season.
Kim had already secured her spot on the U.S. Olympic team by winning a qualifying event last year. She has maintained a light competition schedule for the 2025-26 season. This is not the first shoulder issue she has faced recently; she also hurt her shoulder during warmups at an event in Copper Mountain, Colorado, last month, though that injury was not considered serious.
Regarding her current condition, Kim noted a positive sign: "The positive thing is, I have range, I'm not in that much pain, I just don't want it to keep popping out." She added, "I feel really good about where my snowboarding is at right now, so I know the minute I get cleared and I'm good to go, I should be fine."
For now, the champion's immediate plan is recovery. "It should be fine," she said. "I'm just hoping that it doesn't take too long, but I'm going to be chilling for the next little while." The snowboarding world now waits anxiously for the MRI results, hoping to see one of its brightest stars healthy and competing for history in Italy.
