LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Superstar American snowboarder Chloe Kim won a silver medal in the Olympic women's halfpipe on Thursday. She fell short of a three-peat, getting a third consecutive gold medal. But as NPR's Pien Huang reports, Kim was still beaming at the results.
PIEN HUANG, BYLINE: Did all the talk about the three-peat stress Chloe Kim out? Not really, she said.
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CHLOE KIM: I'm just here to snowboard, and whatever medal I get in doing so, great. But I think my priority is always just doing the best I can in that moment based on whatever circumstances I'm dealing with.
HUANG: Kim dislocated her shoulder during a training run weeks before the Olympics.
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KIM: A month ago, I wasn't even sure if I would be here. And so, God, I could get emotional thinking about it, but I really worked so hard to get here. And so this medal means so much to me.
HUANG: The injury tore the cartilage in her shoulder and kept her out of training and competition basically until she showed up at the Olympics. In yesterday's halfpipe finals, Kim laid down an excellent first run and led the scoreboard for most of the event. But a new generation of riders has upped the difficulty.
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KIM: For so long, I won events doing the same run over and over and over again. And I think if they didn't push me, I wouldn't have been able to see how far I could go as a snowboarder.
HUANG: One in particular is Gaon Choi, a 17-year-old snowboarding prodigy from South Korea. She crashed hard into the deck on her first run and then came back to win the gold.
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GAON CHOI: (Through interpreter) I feel like I'm still in my dreams. I still can't believe it. It's my first Olympics and my first medal, and it's gold. I'm so happy.
HUANG: Choi looked up to Kim as a child. Their dads are friends, and the Kims helped bring the promising young snowboarder to train in California.
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CHOI: (Through interpreter) Chloe unnie has been a role model for me. And when I got hurt after the first run, she comforted me and looked at me with these watery eyes. She came down and gave me a hug, and I felt so warm and happy.
HUANG: Kim gave her a huge hug again when it was clear that Choi had the top-scoring run, putting Kim in second place.
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KIM: Oh, man, she's my baby (laughter). I've known her since she was so little, and I'm so proud of her. Now I think I kind of know how my mentors felt when I came on the stage. Like, I'm seeing it for the first time, and it's truly a special moment.
HUANG: Kim says she's focusing less on awards and more on what in snowboarding brings her joy.
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KIM: I wanted to do what felt good for me, and in doing so, it allowed me to fall in love with the sport again. So happy camper.
HUANG: After the competition, Kim told Choi she could finally retire, but Choi thought she might be kidding.
Pien Huang, NPR News, Milan.
FADEL: For more Olympics coverage, check out Up First Winter Games, a new video podcast from NPR. Episodes drop throughout the Games every afternoon at youtube.com/npr.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHUMBAWAMBA'S "TUBTHUMPING") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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