South Korea’s Choi Gaon won gold in the 2026 Winter Olympics women’s snowboarding halfpipe, beating defending champion Chloe Kim of the USA by 2.25 points in a final that swung on the very last run. The 17 year old scored 90.25 after two falls to deny Kim a historic third straight gold, with Japan’s Mitsuki Ono taking bronze. The final took place on 12 February at Livigno Snow Park during the Milano Cortina 2026 Games.
If you’re catching up on what happened, or you’re trying to understand how halfpipe scoring actually works, this article covers the full result, the drama behind it, and what it meant for Team GB and UK viewers.
What happened in the final
Qualification for the women’s snowboarding halfpipe ran on 11 February, with the final held the following night, 12 February 2026, at Livigno Snow Park in Valtellina, Italy. Twenty four riders from nine nations went through qualifying, and the top 12 progressed to the final.
Chloe Kim topped qualifying with a 90.25, despite carrying a shoulder injury picked up during a training crash ahead of the Games. Japan’s Sara Shimizu, the reigning X Games champion, qualified second with 87.50, and Kim’s US teammate Maddie Mastro went through in third.
The final itself was chaotic. Several of the sport’s biggest names fell early, including Choi Gaon, who crashed hard on her opening run and needed several minutes of medical attention before riding away under her own power. She was initially down as a non-starter for run two, then returned and fell again. It looked, at that point, like Kim’s night.
Final result and medal table
Kim’s first run of 88.00, built around a backside 720, a switch double cork 1080 and an inverted 540, held top spot deep into the competition. With five riders left to drop, Choi Gaon produced the run of her life: a switch backside 900, a switch frontside 720, a frontside 900 and a backside 900, scored at 90.25. Kim had one more attempt to reclaim the lead but fell before completing it, handing gold to Choi.
| Position | Athlete | Country | Best score |
| Gold | Choi Gaon | South Korea | 90.25 |
| Silver | Chloe Kim | United States | 88.00 |
| Bronze | Mitsuki Ono | Japan | 85.00 |
It was South Korea’s first Olympic gold medal in a snow sport, and Choi’s win ended Kim’s bid to become the first snowboarder, male or female, to win three consecutive Olympic halfpipe titles. Kim had already won gold at Pyeongchang 2018, aged 17, and again at Beijing 2022.
How halfpipe scoring actually works
Snowboard halfpipe is judged, not timed. Each rider gets three runs down the pipe, and only the best score counts, so a bad first attempt (like Choi’s) doesn’t end your medal chances.
Judges score out of 100, weighing amplitude (how high riders get above the pipe walls), the difficulty of the tricks attempted, how cleanly they’re landed, and variety across the run. A fall on landing usually caps a rider’s score well below what a clean run of the same difficulty would earn, which is exactly what cost Kim on her final attempt.
The Livigno halfpipe walls stand around 22 feet (6.7 metres) tall, so a badly judged landing carries real risk, as Choi’s opening run showed.
Chloe Kim’s three-peat bid, and the injury story
Kim’s build-up to Milano Cortina was far from smooth. She made only one start during the 2025/26 World Cup season after crashing in training at Copper, Colorado, then suffered a further training crash near Laax that injured her shoulder shortly before the Games.
Kim’s recovered enough to top qualifying and lead the final for most of the night, saying afterwards that her shoulder felt “pretty good” and hadn’t popped out again since the injury. She confirmed she’d need surgery once the Games were over. Given the circumstances, silver was still a huge result, and it made her the most decorated woman in Olympic snowboard halfpipe history.
Did Team GB have a rider in the event?
No British snowboarder competed in the women’s halfpipe at Milano Cortina 2026. Team GB’s snowboard squad focused on cross, slopestyle and big air, with Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale winning snowboard cross team gold, and Mia Brookes competing in slopestyle and big air.
It’s worth clearing up a common mix-up here: Zoe Atkin’s bronze medal was in freeski halfpipe, not snowboard halfpipe. Freeskiing and snowboarding are separate Olympic disciplines that share a venue and a similar pipe, but riders use skis rather than a board, and it’s judged as a different event with its own podium.
How UK viewers watched it
Coverage of the Winter Olympics in the UK was split between the BBC and TNT Sport. The BBC showed major events free to air on BBC One and BBC Two from 9am to 10pm, plus an “Olympics Extra” stream on BBC iPlayer for additional coverage, all accessible with a UK postcode, an email sign-up and confirmation of a TV licence, according to the BBC’s own coverage guide.
TNT Sport and Discovery+ carried the fuller package, more than 850 hours across every sport and venue, with Discovery+ subscriptions starting from £3.99 a month. Because Italy sits only one hour ahead of the UK, most finals, including the halfpipe, were shown live at a reasonable evening hour rather than in the middle of the night, unlike recent Games in Asia or North America.
A short history of the event
Snowboarding joined the Winter Olympic programme at Nagano 1998, and halfpipe has been a fixture ever since. Chloe Kim’s back to back wins in 2018 and 2022 made her the standout figure of the last decade, and Spain’s Queralt Castellet, who took silver behind Kim at a previous Games, extended her own Olympic career to a sixth appearance at Milano Cortina.
Choi Gaon’s win adds a new name to that lineage, and at 17 she’s set up as the athlete to beat heading into the next Winter Games cycle.
FAQS
Who won the 2026 Winter Olympics women’s snowboarding halfpipe?
Choi Gaon of South Korea won gold with a score of 90.25, ahead of Chloe Kim of the USA (silver, 88.00) and Mitsuki Ono of Japan (bronze, 85.00). The final took place on 12 February 2026 at Livigno Snow Park.
Did Chloe Kim win a medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
Yes. Kim won silver in the women’s snowboarding halfpipe, finishing 2.25 points behind gold medallist Choi Gaon. It meant she narrowly missed becoming the first snowboarder to win three consecutive Olympic halfpipe titles.
What happened to Chloe Kim’s shoulder before the final?
Kim injured her shoulder in a training crash near Laax shortly before the Games, having also crashed earlier in the season at Copper, Colorado. She competed through the injury and confirmed afterwards that she’d need surgery once the Olympics finished.
How is Olympic snowboard halfpipe scored?
Each rider gets three runs, and only their best score counts. Judges mark out of 100 based on amplitude, trick difficulty, landing quality and variety, so one bad run doesn’t rule a rider out of medal contention.
Where was the women’s halfpipe held at Milano Cortina 2026?
The event was staged at Livigno Snow Park in Valtellina, Italy, with qualifying on 11 February and the final on 12 February 2026.
Did Team GB have an athlete in the women’s snowboarding halfpipe?
No. Team GB’s snowboard team competed in cross, slopestyle and big air instead. Zoe Atkin’s bronze medal came in freeski halfpipe, a related but separate discipline judged on its own podium.
Is snowboard halfpipe the same as freeski halfpipe?
No, they’re different Olympic events. Both use a similar pipe shape, but snowboarders ride a single board while freeskiers use two skis, and each discipline has its own qualifying, final and medals.
How old is Choi Gaon, the gold medallist?
Choi Gaon was 17 at the time of her win, making Milano Cortina 2026 her Olympic debut. Her gold was also South Korea’s first Olympic medal in a snow sport.
How could UK viewers watch the halfpipe final live?
The BBC showed major events free on BBC One, BBC Two and iPlayer, while TNT Sport and Discovery+ carried fuller coverage from £3.99 a month. Italy’s one hour time difference to the UK meant the final aired at a sensible evening time.
When is the next Olympic snowboard halfpipe event?
The next Winter Olympics take place in 2030, with the host city and full venue schedule confirmed closer to the Games. Check GOV.UK or the official Olympics website nearer the time for confirmed dates.
