Choi Ga-on Has Six Metal Rods in Her Spine: "Aren’t You Ashamed to Call This a 10-Billion-Won Silver-Spoon Story?"

\r\n
\r\n\r\n
[Financial News] Snowboard halfpipe rider Choi Ga-on (18, Sehwa Girls’ High School), who won the country’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in a snow event, is moving people even more with her fighting spirit through injury than with the gold itself.
\r\n\r\n
On the 19th, Choi Ga-on posted a photo taken during a medical examination at a hospital on her Instagram account. In one corner of the image, the words "3 fractures" were written, indicating breaks in three different places.
In the early hours of the 13th at Livigno Snowpark in Italy, Choi scored 90.25 points in the women’s snowboard halfpipe final at the 2026 Milan–Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, claiming the gold medal.
It was a gold medal nobody had expected.
During her first run, she crashed hard and lay on the ground for a long time, to the point that medical staff had to come down to the course. She was carried off on a stretcher, and it looked certain she would withdraw from the competition.
She limped back up for her second run, but fell again, seemingly dropping out of medal contention.
However, in her third and final run, she earned the highest score of the day and completed a dramatic comeback.
Arriving back in Korea through Incheon International Airport on the 16th, Choi told reporters, "My knee is feeling much better," adding that she would go to the hospital for a checkup.
The three fractures were not sustained at this Olympics, but during a training camp in Laax, Switzerland, last January. She had partially casted her right hand at the time, and a detailed examination now has confirmed the fractures.
Fortunately, the broken bones have not shifted or become misaligned, so surgery is not necessary. She is expected to wear a brace and undergo treatment for about four weeks.
\r\n\r\n
As people watched Choi Ga-on overcome fear and extreme pain, her past injury history resurfaced as well.
On an online community, photos were shared from January 2024, when Choi was injured during training just before the Laax World Cup in Switzerland. One shows her lying in a hospital bed, looking at her phone while waiting for surgery; another is an X-ray image of her spine with metal rods inserted.
At that time, she reportedly failed a landing and fell on her back, and doctors diagnosed her with a spinal fracture. She ultimately underwent surgery to stabilize her spine with metal implants.
The person who posted the story explained, "Normally, an injury like this is serious enough to end an athlete’s career. Medically, it requires at least a year of rehabilitation."
Internet users have been sending messages of support to Choi Ga-on, who has fought through the pain and shown such determination in every competition.
Comments included, "She may live in a 10-billion-won home, but she’s breaking her body for the happiness of the people," and, "This gold medal was literally earned by grinding down her own body."
y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter