‘Genius girl’ Choi Ga-on and ‘record maker’ Chaeun Lee: Will Korea win its first snow event gold under the Milan sky?

[The Financial News] As the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics approach, South Korea’s medal scenarios are being rewritten. Until now, Korean winter sports have been led by ice events, with short track speed skating at the forefront of the medal race.
This time, however, the picture is different. In snow events—especially snowboard halfpipe—exceptional male and female prospects have emerged at the same time, raising hopes that Korea could capture its first-ever gold medal on snow.
Snowboard halfpipe is an event where riders perform high-difficulty tricks such as aerial spins and jumps on a semi-cylindrical slope. It has long been considered the domain of Western stars like Shaun White and Chloe Kim of the United States. But in the 2020s, Korean snowboarding has leapt from the periphery to the center with the rise of Choi Ga-on of Sehwa Girls' High School and Chaeun Lee of Kyung Hee University, both widely regarded as “genius” talents.
In the women’s field, Choi Ga-on is the most promising “blue-chip” prospect of these Olympics. Born in 2008, she burst onto the scene in January 2023, just before turning 15, by becoming the youngest-ever champion at the world-renowned extreme sports event X Games. She then proved she was world-class by winning a World Cup in December of the same year. Although she suffered a setback when a back injury during training early in 2024 forced her into surgery, she made a full comeback after a year of rehabilitation.


Choi Ga-on has been on a tear this Olympic season. She won back-to-back events at FIS World Cups in China and the United States last month, and is poised to sweep the World Cup in Laax, Switzerland, on the 18th, standing atop the podium at every event she has entered. These are not just routine victories; they are a strong indicator that she is a leading favorite for gold at the upcoming Olympics.
Her bid for Olympic gold is expected to culminate in a head-to-head showdown with “snowboard queen” Chloe Kim of the United States. Chloe Kim, who captured consecutive gold medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang and the 2022 Winter Olympics, is aiming for a third straight title. Although a recent shoulder injury has kept her out of the World Cup circuit, her determination to compete at the Olympics is clear. As a result, the “new vs. reigning champion” clash between the two riders is shaping up to be one of the marquee storylines of these Winter Games.
Choi Ga-on is preparing the ultra-difficult trick “switch back 1080,” in which she rides switch, launches into the air, and spins three full rotations, as her signature weapon in her challenge to Chloe Kim’s throne.

On the men’s side, Chaeun Lee is also ready to set a new milestone in the history of Korean snow sports. Born in 2006, he was the youngest member of the Korean delegation at the 2022 Winter Olympics, where he showed his potential. Since then, he has improved rapidly. In March 2023, he won the world championships at the age of 16 years and 10 months, becoming the youngest world champion in history. It was the first world championships gold medal ever for Korean skiing or snowboarding.

Chaeun Lee has steadily proven his international competitiveness, winning two gold medals (halfpipe and slopestyle) at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics and taking slopestyle gold at the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin. Although he missed the podium in his main event, halfpipe, at the Asian Games due to the misfortune of having his weather-affected qualifying score carried over, and later underwent knee surgery, those setbacks have only made him stronger.
Many observers believe that the Milan stage, his second Olympics, is the perfect moment for him to fully showcase the skills he has honed.
South Korea’s best Olympic result in skiing or snowboarding so far is the silver medal won by Lee Sang-ho of the Nexen Winguard Snowboard Team at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. In the winter of 2026, Choi Ga-on and Chaeun Lee are aiming higher, determined to surpass that mark and reach the very top of the podium. Korea’s medal race, once confined to the ice, is now taking flight on snow-covered slopes.


jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter