Gaon Choi had a scary fall in her first run at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, but that setback didn't stop her from showcasing her mettle and defeating the touted Chloe Kim.

Choi's fall was so serious that the medical staff had brought a sled to take her off the mountain. She crashed hard into the edge of the halfpipe during her first run. NBC cameras showed medical trainers running quickly to help her, while commentators thought her competition might be over.

However, The 17-year-old from South Korea refused to stay down. She came back for her final run, and scored 90.25 to win the gold medal, dethroning two-time Olympic champion Chloe Kim.

Kim scored 88.00 and won silver after falling on her last run. She was trying to become the first snowboarder in Olympic history to win three gold medals in a row in the same event.

Choi tried to do a frontside 1080 in her first run, but it went wrong. She hit the edge of the halfpipe and slid down to the bottom. "That lip right there is hard as polished marble," NBC's Todd Richards said. "It's icy, this halfpipe is very set up."

However, this fall wasn't the only adversary she encountered during her performance at at Livigno Snow Park.

Gaon Choi Fights Back From Two Crashes to Win Olympic Gold

After Choi's disastrous first go, her second run also ended in a fall. She landed too low, crashed early, and for a moment, the scoreboard showed “DNS” next to her name.

Kim had already scored 88.00 in her first run and was in first place going into the final round. Only Choi could stop her from making history. The 17-year-old stepped up when it mattered most. In her final run, she landed all her big tricks cleanly and stayed in control from start to finish.

The judges were impressed and gave her a score of 90.25, which became enough to earn her the gold medal.

Following her victory, Choi said, "I cried because I thought I wouldn't be able to compete, but the thought kept coming back to me: 'You can do this. You have to go on.”

Fans witnessed a moment of mutual respect after Choi's victory as, Kim went straight to Choi and hugged her. A video showed Kim smiling and celebrating Choi’s win with real happiness.

"I'm so proud of her," Kim said. "There's no one else I would have rather stood next to on the podium than her. I'm so excited to see what she does next. It was so inspirational."

Choi became the first snowboarder from South Korea to win an Olympic gold medal. She also won her country’s first gold medal at the 2026 Milano Cortina Games.

Was Choi's case the most inspiring Olympic comeback you've ever seen?

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Souvik Roy