"You really skated as if your life depended on it" – Bones broken in three places hidden inside her glove... Shock at Choi Ga-on’s fighting spirit [2026 Milan]

[Financial News] It was the most brilliant gold medal in the world. Yet behind it lay a desperate struggle by an 18-year-old girl that no one knew about.
"3 fractures"
On the 19th, a single X-ray image that women’s snowboard halfpipe gold medalist Choi Ga-on of Sehwa Girls’ High School posted on her social media (SNS) sent shockwaves around the world. She had just won the title at the 2026 Milan–Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics.
It was far from a minor injury. The palm bone in Choi’s left hand was broken in no fewer than three places. Fortunately, the bones had not shifted, so she avoided immediate surgery, but she still faces four weeks in a brace – a serious injury by any measure. Even more startling, this fracture occurred late last month during a training camp in Switzerland, well before the Olympics began.
Her bone was split into three pieces. Just breathing sent waves of pain through her hand, let alone gripping a snowboard and standing atop a massive halfpipe. By common sense, it was almost impossible. But Choi could not give up on her dream stage. When an X-ray at a local hospital failed to clearly show the fracture, she simply added a partial cast to her left hand and quietly headed to Livigno, Italy, where the competition would be held.
The final on the 13th was, quite literally, a life-on-the-line battle for Choi Ga-on.

During her first run, she lost balance mid-jump and slammed her head hard onto the ice. The impact left her unable to stand for a while, and medical staff and a stretcher rushed in as the scene turned frightening. On top of her already shattered hand came the looming fear of a concussion. When she then failed the landing in her second run as well, her chances of a medal seemed to slip completely out of reach.
But in the final, third run, a miracle unfolded. Neither the searing pain from her broken bone nor the trauma of hitting her head could stop the 18-year-old from taking flight. Enduring the pressure on her left hand gripping the board, she delivered a flawless performance, and the scoreboard flashed 90.25 points. It was a dramatic come-from-behind victory that even surpassed the 88.00 points of reigning "queen" Chloe Kim, who was chasing a third straight Olympic gold.
After the event, Choi limped onto the podium, supported by her teammates. At the time, it was thought to be just the aftereffects of her fall in the first run. In reality, however, her entire body had already been pushed far beyond its limits.

"I’m feeling much better now. I plan to go to the hospital for a checkup." Choi Ga-on spoke calmly with a smile when she returned home with the gold on the 16th. Behind that bright smile, however, lay the harsh days in which she had to endure the agony of broken bones all by herself.
We often measure the value of an Olympic gold medal only in cheers and glory. But Choi Ga-on’s gold was literally a crystallization of fighting spirit, traded for three shattered pieces of bone.
The world is once again holding its breath at the miraculous, blood-tinged flight of an 18-year-old who turned the impossible into reality.
jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter