American snowboarding icon Chloe Kim says she remains on course for the Winter Olympics in Italy despite suffering a torn labrum during a training accident last week.
Kim, who has captured the last two Olympic gold medals in women’s halfpipe, disclosed the injury in an Instagram post on Tuesday, offering clarification after previously confirming she had been hurt in training. She explained that medical scans revealed a tear in her labrum, though not a severe one.
“The bad news is that I tore my labrum,” Kim said. “The good news is that I just tore my labrum.”
An MRI conducted on Friday showed the injury was manageable, but it will force her to miss this week’s Laax Open in Switzerland, the final World Cup competition before the Olympic break. Even so, Kim said she expects to be fully fit for the Olympic halfpipe event, which begins on February 11 in Livigno.
At 25, Kim is one of the headline athletes for Team USA. She first made history at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang by winning halfpipe gold at just 17, becoming the youngest woman to do so. She followed that up four years later by becoming the first woman to successfully defend an Olympic halfpipe title. Her résumé also includes three world championships and eight X Games superpipe gold medals.
If Kim manages to claim a third consecutive Olympic title, it would come after a disrupted buildup. She has had limited competition time in recent weeks and also withdrew from a World Cup event in Colorado last month due to another training-related injury.
Kim acknowledged the challenge of entering the Olympics with reduced preparation. She said it has been frustrating to stay off her snowboard so close to the Games, knowing she hasn’t had as many practice runs as she would prefer. Still, she expressed confidence in her ability to be ready when it matters most.
Footage shared last week showed the fall that caused the injury, with Kim losing balance as her board caught in the snow, sending her face-first into the halfpipe wall. While she initially appeared uncertain about the seriousness of the injury, her tone was noticeably more upbeat in Tuesday’s update, even joking about the discomfort of wearing her shoulder brace.
She added that sitting out the Laax Open will be difficult but said she plans to keep herself distracted. The video concluded with a clip of her boyfriend, NFL defensive end Myles Garrett, arriving to visit her, accompanied by the caption: “Distraction secured.”
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