Fourteen-year-old Chloe Kim of La Palma, California became the youngest competitor to win X Games gold on Saturday when she dominated the Women’s SuperPipe in Aspen, Colorado, reports US Snowboarding.com. The Orange County teenager, who trains at Mammoth Mountain, beat snowboarding legends Kelly Clark of Vermont and Australia’s Torah Bright.
Visibly banged up from a nasty crash in practice, Kim was unshakeable, easily beating out competitors more than twice her age. Kim told ESPN, “My face kind of hurts right now, but that was so fun.”
Deemed the next Shaun White, the young prodigy spent a couple of years training in Europe until she moved back to California at age ten. Sponsored by Burton and Oakley, Kim placed second in the same event at the 2014 Winter X Games, qualifying for the Sochi Olympics. At thirteen, she was ineligible to compete because she was too young. Chloe Kim is one of many new Asian and Asian American stars in extreme sports, and the future looks bright for inspired young snowboarders.
Re: Korean American snowboarder becomes youngest gold medal winner at X Games: This is truly spectacular!
Koran American snowboarder becomes youngest gold medalist at winter X Games: It's always a pleasure to watch Chloe Kim compete. We look forward to seeing her at X Games in Oslo next week.