Full courage on halfpipe: Snowboard gold medalist Choi Ga-on looks back on Olympics, ahead to what's next
![Snowboarder Choi Ga-on poses during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo in Gangnam District, Southern Seoul, on April 10. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/16/197eca97-43fb-46c5-88d6-894d30dc285d.jpg)
Snowboarder Choi Ga-on poses during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo in Gangnam District, Southern Seoul, on April 10. [JOONGANG ILBO]
Olympic champion Choi Ga-on says the key to snowboard halfpipe is simple: a strong mentality and little fear of height or speed.
That mindset helped the now-18-year-old recover from a spinal fracture and return to win gold in the women’s snowboard halfpipe at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in Livigno, Italy, on Feb 12, becoming the youngest athlete ever to win the event at 17.
“I was never really that scared of rides at amusement parks when I was young,” Choi said during an interview with JoongAng Ilbo in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Friday.
![Snowboarder Choi Ga-on poses during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo in Gangnam District, Southern Seoul, on April 10. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/16/64b26de4-baca-44c4-9b95-069e6c83cb28.jpg)
Snowboarder Choi Ga-on poses during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo in Gangnam District, Southern Seoul, on April 10. [JOONGANG ILBO]
That matters in an event built on risk. A halfpipe wall stands about seven meters (23 feet) high, and Choi launches another three to four meters above it. At roughly 11 meters, about the height of the fourth or fifth floor of an apartment building, the event demands not only balance and technique but also the nerve to commit in midair.
“Balance and core muscles are important,” Choi said. “And unlike many other sports, this one carries a lot of risk, so you have to be mentally strong.”
That mental strength was put to the test in January 2024, when Choi fractured her spine at a World Cup event in Laax, Switzerland. She underwent three operations over several months, with metal rods inserted during her recovery, and at one point stepped away from the sport altogether.
“Time just passed,” Choi said when asked how she found the courage to return. “My foreign coach even came to my house and encouraged me, saying I could absolutely do it again and even ride better than before.”
![Snowboarder Choi Ga-on competes during the women's snowboarding halfpipe finals at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, on Feb. 12. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/16/f1d34553-fa5c-4938-842c-63c968c7f6cb.jpg)
Snowboarder Choi Ga-on competes during the women's snowboarding halfpipe finals at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, on Feb. 12. [AP/YONHAP]
A year later, she returned to the same venue for her comeback. Training there left her badly shaken, and memories of the injury resurfaced once the final began.
“I was really nervous in practice, but I clenched my teeth and got through it with my dad,” Choi said. “Once the qualification round started, I felt better. But after the final began, memories of the injury came back and my body started shaking again. I lowered the difficulty and focused on not getting hurt.”
Even still, she finished third.
At the Olympics, Choi faced an even greater test. She was hurt on her first run in the final, then had to decide whether to continue. Before the second run, the scoreboard briefly showed that she might not start.
“If it hadn’t been the Olympics, I would have stopped,” Choi said. “There could even have been a break in the place I hurt in the first run. But if I had gone home after ending the Olympics like that, I thought I would stay depressed and regret it forever."
Choi's dad, who knows his daughter's personality better than anyone, moved her to try again.
![Snowboarder Choi Ga-on does a trick during the snowboard half-pipe competition at the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, March 29, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/16/3e5dc0cb-4cb0-4916-976e-b60abc8998f1.jpg)
Snowboarder Choi Ga-on does a trick during the snowboard half-pipe competition at the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, March 29, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]
"He told me over the phone that 'Ga-on would do it again' and gave me technical advice," she said.
Her coach also told her that she would have to prove her condition by walking in front of him.
"If I couldn’t walk, there would be no choice but to give up," she said.
"I told myself to hold on mentally and just try to walk somehow. Then I started walking.”
She went back out for the second and third runs and ended the day on the top of the podium.
![American silver medalist Chloe Kim, left, claps as Korean gold medalist Choi Ga-on celebrates winning the women's snowboarding halfpipe finals at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, on Feb. 12. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/16/b1535723-09fa-41c8-a3c6-f4630a4a0465.jpg)
American silver medalist Chloe Kim, left, claps as Korean gold medalist Choi Ga-on celebrates winning the women's snowboarding halfpipe finals at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, on Feb. 12. [AP/YONHAP]
Choi stressed the importance of controlling her mindset once again.
“At World Cups, I tell myself it’s O.K. even if I fall, because there’s another event next time,” Choi said. “In important moments like a final, I keep saying, ‘I can do it, I can do it.’”
But when asked if she would choose to snowboard or study if she were to be born again, Choi didn't immediately pick snowboarding.
"If I were to be born again knowing that I'd win a gold medal at the Olympics, I'd choose to snowboard," she said. "If not, I'd choose to study."
Choi's next goal is not to win another gold medal.
“Even if my results aren't the best, I want to be the kind of rider other people in the sport recognize as the best boarder,” Choi said, when asked about what kind of athlete she hopes to become.
After the Olympics, Choi has been enjoying some well-deserved rest before leaving for Saitama, Japan, later this month, where she can train at a facility with an air mat designed to prevent injuries from landing as she prepares for the new season.
"I've had the most fun when I rode an electric bicycle with my friends for three to four hours near the Han River," she said. "I started raising a dog, and I also started to learn English."
![Snowboarder Choi Ga-on poses during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo in Gangnam District, Southern Seoul, on April 10. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/16/d98ec501-649f-4b73-8287-a47328151be5.jpg)
Snowboarder Choi Ga-on poses during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo in Gangnam District, Southern Seoul, on April 10. [JOONGANG ILBO]
There still are no halfpipes built to international standards nor an air mat training site in Korea, making her rise all the more remarkable.
“It is hard enough to focus on just halfpipe,” Choi said. “But maybe someday I’ll try snowboard big air too.”
![Snowboarder Choi Ga-on poses during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo in Gangnam District, Southern Seoul, on April 10. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/16/eef1e2e1-337e-4778-a3d4-6dc7e8f5defb.jpg)
Snowboarder Choi Ga-on poses during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo in Gangnam District, Southern Seoul, on April 10. [JOONGANG ILBO]
![Snowboarder Choi Ga-on poses during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo in Gangnam District, Southern Seoul, on April 10. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/16/a17c28aa-9ece-4e74-b050-215a621c2abb.jpg)
Snowboarder Choi Ga-on poses during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo in Gangnam District, Southern Seoul, on April 10. [JOONGANG ILBO]
![Snowboarder Choi Ga-on poses during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo in Gangnam District, Southern Seoul, on April 10. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/16/a83c7ed5-8ab1-48a9-9474-d8e490c22b86.jpg)
Snowboarder Choi Ga-on poses during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo in Gangnam District, Southern Seoul, on April 10. [JOONGANG ILBO]
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 LEE HAY-JUNE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)