Chloe Kim Wins Gold, Again!
The 2022 Winter Olympic games are well underway in Beijing, and we had our sights set on the 5’ 3” absolute firecracker, Chloe Kim, the American snowboarder from Long Beach, California. In 2018, at the age of 17, she brought home an Olympic gold medal in snowboarding, which made her the youngest woman to ever win one in that category. Now at 21, she returned to the Olympic games and won gold for Team USA again! But who is the six-time X Games gold medalist and Olympian, Chloe Kim?
In 1982, Chloe Kim’s Father emigrated from South Korea to the United States. Upon his arrival he enrolled in university and earned a degree in manufacturing engineering technology but once he recognized that his daughter had a special penchant for snowboarding, which she learned to do at the age of 4, he quit his job to help her achieve her dreams. Years later, in 2018 Chloe competed in her first Winter Olympic Games, which took place in South Korea. Not only was this the Olympic debut for the Korean American, but she got to perform in front of a Korean audience and in front of her Korean family, including her grandmother. “I have this different opportunity because I'm Korean-American, but I'm riding for the States. ... I'm starting to understand that I can represent both countries."
(Chloe with her parents at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games)
She is fluent in Korean, French and English, a proud representation of both countries, and of her heritage. She is carving a path for other minorities like her in a powder white sport; take one glance at Team USA’s snowboarding roster and sprinkled amongst the blondes, and one very celebrated redhead, Shaun White who is retiring from snowboarding after these Olympic games, are only two Asian’s, one of whom is Chloe, and no black riders out of 27 individuals.
Last week her 60-second film with P&G was released titled “Always There”, which is a love letter and thank you note to her family and roots. She spoke to People Magazine about the film and was asked about her favorite scene. She replied, “One of the scenes we filmed was me pouring seaweed soup, Miyeok-guk (a Korean seaweed soup), into a container. That was important to me because my dad would travel with me, and we would travel across the world to go find snow and find the best halfpipe for me to train in. Miyeok-guk was my favorite dish that my mom made. My mom would always make me a big batch before we went, putting it in containers for us to take on the road. Miyeok-guk was just one of those things that we got to bring a little piece of home with us across the world, wherever we were.”
Talent, dedication and skill are all things that Chloe possesses, but she always makes sure to knock on wood before a run, “I knock on my snowboard twice before I start my run. Because snowboards are made from wood, so knock on wood, for good luck.” Off the snow, Chloe has her sights set on a future in science and will return to her collegiate studies at Princeton University in the Fall of 2022. We bet not many undergraduates at Princeton can say they have Olympic gold medals, a Sports Illustrated cover, a Skims campaign, a Time Magazine cover, and a limited-edition Corn Flakes box which set a record for the “fastest-selling cereal box in Kellogg Company history.” When she’s not ripping through a halfpipe of focusing on school, she can be found on the golf course or tennis court. She joked to the New York Times, “My boyfriend’s a big golfer, and we kind of started going together, and I’m kind of, like, talented at it. Like, I don’t know any golfers, but Tiger Woods needs to watch himself.” Wherever your path takes you Chloe, you are an exemplary version of a Recreational Habits woman, and we cannot wait to cheer you and your accomplishments on.
