Kim begins Snowboard Halfpipe three-peat bid facing her ‘reflection’

The third of three three-peat opportunities at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 opens tomorrow as Chloe Kim (USA) headlines the Women’s Snowboard Halfpipe qualification.

Ester Ledecka (CZE) and Anna Gasser (AUT) had their chance to become the first snowboarder in Olympic history to win back-to-back-to-back titles. The enormity of the feat was evident when Ledecka’s attempt ended in the Parallel Giant Slalom quarter-finals on Sunday and Gasser finished eighth in the Big Air final on Monday.

But few would put it past Kim to go where no rider has gone, even after the three-time World Champion dislocated her shoulder last month while training in Switzerland.

The Olympics will be the Korean-American’s first competition this season. In contrast, Choi Gaon (KOR) has won three Halfpipe World Cup titles this term to lead the Halfpipe Crystal Globe race.

Choi, 17, is the same age as Kim was when she won her first Olympic Halfpipe gold at Pyeongchang 2018, and Kim has witnessed her growth first-hand.

“Her dad is so on top of it, her mum is also so supportive. It’s really so cool to see another Korean girl out here killing it. We’re seeing a big shift to Asians being dominant in snow sports.”

Dominant Asians

Other than the USA, Japan and China are the only NOCs to be represented by a maximum of four qualifiers.

At the 2025 World Championships, four Japanese riders placed second to fifth behind Kim — Sara Shimizu, Mitsuki Ono, Rise Kudo, and Sena Tomita, the bronze medalist at Beijing 2022. And they are all in the 25-strong field that will light up Livigno Snow Park.

Women’s Halfpipe qualification begins at 10:30 CET tomorrow while the men get underway at 19:30. Riders will be ranked on the best of two runs in the qualification, with the top 12 advancing to the final — Thursday for the women and Friday for the men.

No half measures

Defending Olympic champion Ayumu Hirano (JPN) is seeking his fourth consecutive podium finish at this event at the Games, having secured silver at Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018.

Scotty James (AUS) is out to complete his set of Halfpipe medals at the Games, after bronze at Pyeongchang 2018 and silver at Beijing 2022. He is also the reigning World Champion, with Ruka Hirano (JPN) and Yuto Totsuka (JPN) finishing second and third in Switzerland last year.

Hirano is the three-time reigning Crystal Globe winner while Totsuka has the most Halfpipe World Cup podium finishes ever. Japanese riders have been a regular feature on World Cup podiums, with at least one rider finishing among the medals for a record 30 consecutive races, a streak that only recently ended.

In the face of strong competition, James has promised to “leave something to be surprised by”, weeks after landing a never-been-done trick combination — a switch backside 1440 into a backside 1440 — en route to X Games gold.