US snowboarding star Chloe Kim dislocates shoulder in training ahead of 2026 Winter Olympics
US snowboarder Chloe Kim is pictured prior to competing in the Women's Snowboard Halfpipe Finals during the Toyota US Grand Prix 2025 at Copper Mountain in December.
By Frank Nunns O’Connell, CNN
(CNN) — US snowboarding star Chloe Kim confirmed on Thursday that she dislocated her shoulder while practicing in Switzerland, leaving her participation in next month’s Winter Olympics in doubt.
The two-time Olympic women’s halfpipe champion posted the video of her injury to Instagram, which took place in Laax – host of a key World Cup event next weekend on the pre-Olympic circuit, which Kim is due to compete in.
The video shows her rising up the halfpipe before she lost her balance and fell awkwardly down the vertical wall of the pipe before coming to a halt in the flat.
With the start of women’s halfpipe at the Milan-Cortina Games beginning on February 11, Kim said she doesn’t have certainty over whether she will be able to compete, though she did confirm that she’s due to have an MRI on Friday to determine the severity of the injury and what her recovery time will be.
“Just trying to stay really optimistic,” Kim – who is going for a third consecutive gold – said in the Instagram post. “I feel really good about where my snowboarding is at right now so I know the minute I get cleared and I’m good to go, I should be fine.”
She added that despite not being in much pain and having range of motion in her shoulder, her main fear is the joint popping out again – which she confirmed had happened since the initial injury.
Despite going through a wave of emotions, Kim maintains that she’s trying to stay positive.
“The only thing I can do is rest/do everything in my power to come back as soon as possible. Thank you all for supporting me on this wild journey!”
It comes as a big setback for the superstar snowboarder, who won gold at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics in South Korea as a 17-year-old – becoming the youngest woman to ever win halfpipe gold – before winning again in Beijing in 2022, becoming the first woman to earn two gold medals in halfpipe.
If the three-time world champion does recover in time to be able compete at her best, she would be the heavy favorite to defend her title next month and become a three-time Olympic champion.
The-CNN-Wire
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