Chloe Kim, the defending Olympic women’s halfpipe champion and one of the main stars of the previous Winter Olympics, returns to Beijing with a fresh outlook and triumphs in all five disciplines after an almost two-year absence.
The 21-year-old American snowboarder with South Korean ancestry has been astounding since returning to the sport last January after breaking her right ankle and attending Princeton University.
She claims she’s ready to defend her championship in China, and she’s in fine form.
“I have a very clear picture of what I need to do as an athlete and going into the Olympics I’m very well prepared,” Kim told the Olympic Channel.
“I’m going to go in with the same mindset as the last one, just no pressure. I’m going to do the best I can and we’ll see what happens.”
Kim extended her win streak at last month’s event in Copper Mountain, Colorado. After falling in her first two runs, she unleashed two of her trademark three-rotation 1080 spins to win the title.
