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'It comes down to one jump': Bronze-winning boarder Yu Seung-eun's journey to first women's snow sports medal

Published: 10 Feb. 2026, 14:12 Updated: 10 Feb. 2026, 16:52

Yu Seung-eun, who won bronze in the women’s snowboard big air medal ceremony at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, holds up her medal and poses for a photo at Livigno Snowpark in Livigno, Italy, on Feb. 9. [NEWS1]

LIVIGNO, Italy ― Korea's high school snowboarder threw her board into the snow and screamed. Not in anger, but in disbelief — and relief.

Yu Seung-eun, an 18-year-old high school student from Korea, had just landed a frontside triple cork 1440 — one of the most difficult tricks in women’s snowboarding — and with it, had vaulted into first place in the Olympic women’s big air final, ultimately claiming the bronze after all boarders had completed their runs.

Korean snowboarding had a new milestone.

Competing Monday at Livigno Snow Park in Italy at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, Yu posted a combined score of 171.00 across two runs. The performance earned her Korea’s first-ever medal for the event, and also the first medal in the history of Korean women’s snowboarding.

“I’ve complained way too much to my parents over the past year,” she said. “Whenever they said anything, I got irritated first. I’m really sorry.”

Yu first tried snowboarding in third grade, following her father. She originally dreamed of becoming a national team player in table tennis or skateboarding, but switched paths after falling for snowboarding.

Yu was skilled enough in table tennis to win major competitions, and she said the reflexes she built there, along with the balance she developed through skateboarding, helped her on the snowboard.

“I’m happy just to be able to wear the Korean flag when I ride, and I’m even happier to win a medal,” Yu said with a broad smile after the event.

Yu Seung-eun performs a trick during the women’s snowboard big air final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics at Livigno Snowpark in Livigno, Italy on Feb. 9. [YONHAP]

It also gave Team Korea a second medal in snow events early in the Games, after Kim Sang-kyum won silver in the men’s parallel giant slalom on Sunday. It was the first time Korea has won two or more medals in snow events at a single competition.

Yu’s rise has been anything but steady. She made her World Cup debut in October 2024, but a right ankle injury forced her to sit out the rest of year. She then injured the same area again at the Harbin Asian Winter Games in February 2025, pushing her full return back even further.

She had even considered quitting ahead of this season. In a December 2025 interview with JoongAng Ilbo, Yu said she felt crushed after working so hard to get her body back, only to fear all that effort would be for nothing.

“I thought maybe I should stop snowboarding,” she said.

Determined to repay the support of family and friends, Yu pushed herself again. After she was hurt while training in Switzerland, she rushed home for surgery, underwent a procedure in which a pin was inserted to stabilize a bone in her wrist, then went back.

Yu Seung-eun smiles after landing a trick during the women’s snowboard big air qualifying round at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics at Livigno Snowpark in Livigno, Italy on Feb. 8. [YONHAP]

She competed while wearing a cast. The cast was heavy and the injury stayed on her mind, so she could not perform at 100 percent, yet she still produced results.

At one point she said she thought about leaving the sport entirely, but after the surgery went well, she was able to speed up her comeback. Her silver medal at a World Cup event in December 2025 was a strong signal that she was back. Yu, who still has metal in her wrist, smiled and said, “Most of the time I don’t even realize it hurts.”

Snowboard big air is an extreme sport often nicknamed the “pommel horse on snow.” Riders charge down from a height of about 30 meters (98.5 feet), or roughly as high as a 10-story building, hit a jump and perform their tricks in midair. In a single jump, they have to complete flips, spins and grabs, then land cleanly to score well.

The injury risk is high. Impacts strong enough to crack helmets and concussions are common.

Yu, however, showed no sign of fear. Instead, she looked thrilled to be battling for a medal with athletes she has long admired, including Japan’s Kokomo Murase and New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott.

Yu Seung-eun poses for a photo during an interview at the JoongAng Ilbo studio in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Dec. 18, 2025. [JOONGANG ILBO]

“If you ask me to name my favorite riders, Murase and Sadowski are the first people I’d mention,” Yu said. “I’m that much of a fan of them. I was happy to be able to stand on the podium with them.”

“There’s still the slopestyle event left,” she added. “But for now, I want to eat a meal near here with a clear mind. After that, I’ll get right back to focusing on training.”

Asked last December why she chose big air, Yu smiled brightly. “It’s appealing because it comes down to one jump,” she said. “The most thrilling moment is when you overcome the fear, go for the jump and stick the landing.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KO BONG-JUN [[email protected]]