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| CHLOE KIM |
With the Beijing Winter Games just days away, snowboarder gold medalist Chloe Kim is peaking at the right time.
Last week she won her fifth snowboard halfpipe X Games title in Aspen, Colorado despite taking a year off to attend classes at Princeton.
“I really was not expecting to podium,” Kim while being interviewed by ESPN. “Really just wanted to go into this season with a new mindset, have fun and try new runs.”
Never lacking confidence, in separate interviews, the 22-year old said she's also very good playing golf and tennis and playfully warned tennis legend Serena Williams and golf icon Tiger Woods of her interest in their sports.
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| Chloe Kim made the cover of Time Magazine. |
Kim exploded onto the sports world in 2018 when she won gold in her event, the half-pipe freestyle. She is the only woman athlete to complete back to back 1080s; that's three full rotations.
At 17-years old, Kim's enthusiasm and sense of humor caught the attention of media and she became a sought-after interview during and after the games leading to a stint on The Masked Singer. But all that attention came at a price, a loss of privacy and the pressure of great expectations.
She felt she needed to take a year off to just be a college student at Princeton. Kim said taking that break from training and competition "was really important," to step back and have fun again.
This fall, at the age of 22, she interrupted her studies to train for the Olympics and girded herself for expected media spotlight. She made the cover of Time Magazine prior to the Games in which she revealed her plans to unveil three new tricks during in Beijing.
“I’m so excited,” says the native Californian. “They’re an upgrade from everything I’ve done.” She won’t say more, which makes sense, but also demurs when asked more generally about the Winter Games. “Don’t have too many expectations,” she says softly. “Just let me vibe. I’m just trying to chill.”She pauses a beat, revealing a comedian's sense of timing.
Then, in a change of tone, Chloe Kim gets deadpan serious: “No, I’m just kidding. You just expect a lot out of me. I’m going to go off.” No lack of confidence, indeed.
If Kim wins, she'll become the first to earn both multiple and consecutive golds in women's halfpipe.
If Kim wins, she'll become the first to earn both multiple and consecutive golds in women's halfpipe.
Women's half-pipe competition begins Feb. 8 at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Finals are the next day. All events can be live-streamed on Peacock., on the NBC Sports app or on NBCOlympics.com.
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