China's Cai falls short, ROK's Choi stuns USA's Kim in women's snowboard halfpipe at Milano Cortina 2026

Snowfall at the Livigno Snow Park on Thursday turned the women's halfpipe final into a drama of attrition, while also penning a story very few could have expected at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

Choi Ga-on, a 17‑year‑old making her debut at the Games for the Republic of Korea, survived two heavy crashes to produce the ride of the night on her final attempt.

Following a first effort that earned just 10 points and a second which ended in another fall, she returned for a "do-or-die" third try. The teenager proceeded to land a high‑difficulty, near‑flawless run that the judges rewarded with a score of 90.25, vaulting her from near‑oblivion to gold medalist with the ROK's first victory at this year's Winter Olympics.

Choi sobbed upon landing and limped onto the podium, American star Chloe Kim, denied a historic third straight women's halfpipe title at the Games, rode over to offer congratulations.

Kim led after the opening run with 88.00 points, but could not better that score in her remaining attempts. Japan's Mitsuki Ono, who posted the first clean run of the final (85.00), held on for bronze despite also failing to improve.

For China, the results were mixed. Veteran Cai Xuetong, a five‑time Olympian, opened with 73.00 points and, after upping the difficulty for the second run, moved up to 80.75 to finish sixth. Her compatriot Wu Shaotong placed seventh in the 12‑rider final.