Gaon Choi: The Crystal Globe interview

Despite that fact that she is still just 17 years old, to say that the Republic of Korea’s Gaon Choi has already earned a spot amongst the storied list of halfpipe snowboarding’s legends would not be an exaggeration. 

While Choi only has some 12 starts to her name so far in her top-level international career, the success - and impact - she has already had in the world of snowboard halfpipe competition puts her in rarified air. 

She exploded onto the scene at the 2023 X Games in Aspen where, at 14 years old, she broke Chloe Kim’s record to became the youngest halfpipe winner in X Games history. The next season she followed that up with her World Cup debut at Copper Mountain (USA), which she promptly won, beginning her World Cup career on a rocket ship ride that seemed destined for the moon.

However, all of that came crashing down at her next start at the Laax Open (SUI), where a massive crash in training ahead of finals resulted in a broken back, three surgeries, and huge question marks about her future not only in snowboarding, but as an able-bodied young woman in the world. 

Those questions were answered almost exactly one year later, when Choi returned to Laax and returned to the podium with a third-place finish, which she followed up with a runner-up result one month later in Aspen (USA). While her Engadin 2025 World Championships efforts to end the 2024/25 season didn’t go quite to plan, with three falls in three runs leading to a 12th-place finish, it would be in 2025/26 season that her place atop the halfpipe world would be cemented. 

Dropping in on three of five halfpipe World Cups leading up to the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, Choi went a perfect three-for-three to up her career World Cup stats to four victories and six podiums in six events (excluding Laax, where she was injured in training and didn't drop in for her runs).

She then followed those three World CUp wins up up with the biggest, gutsiest, and most awe-inspiring performance of her young career so far at those Olympic Winter Games in Livingo, coming back from a horrifying crash in her first run to stomp her third and final attempt, besting her hero and mentor, the G.O.A.T. Chloe Kim, to set a new benchmark as the youngest Olympic Snowboard gold medallist in history. 

And while the lingering effects of her Olympic crash would force her to miss the rest of the 2025/26 competition season, Choi’s three victories in three starts leading up to the Games would be enough to give her not only the Halfpipe Crystal Globe, but also the women’s Snowboard Park & Pipe overall globe by season’s end. 

We caught up with Gaon Choi via email last week to look back at the incredible season that was for the rider set to rule the halfpipe world for the foreseeable future. 

FIS - Hi Gaon! I hope you’re doing well and the recovery from your injuries at the Olympics is on track. It was unfortunate that those meant you were not able to finish the competition season, yet you still claimed the Halfpipe Crystal Globe and the FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe Overall Crystal Globe because of your three consecutive victories in the first half of the winter. What does it mean to you to be rewarded as the most successful women’s rider of the 2025/26 Park & Pipe World Cup?

GAON CHOI - Before the Olympics, I won every halfpipe World Cup event I competed in, so I was incredibly happy. After my injury, I couldn’t compete for the rest of the season, and I honestly let go of my hopes of winning the Crystal Globe. Just winning the Halfpipe Crystal Globe, which I had dreamed about for so long, meant everything to me. Winning the Overall Park & Pipe Crystal Globe was even more unbelievable because there aren’t many halfpipe competitions during the season, so it’s very difficult for a halfpipe rider to win the overall title. It still feels like a dream.

FIS - You weren’t able to be at the season finale awards ceremony in Silvaplana to get your Crystal Globes on stage, but have you received your trophies at home now? Where are you displaying them?

GC - I received the Crystal Globes recently. They’re displayed in my living room together with all of my other halfpipe trophies and awards. Every time I look at them, they remind me of all the hard work and dedication it took to earn them.

FIS - You put together one of the bravest performances of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, winning the gold medal with your third run after almost being forced out of the competition from a very scary crash in run one. Can you tell me about your thoughts just after that crash, your thoughts during the last-second decision to drop in for run two, and then what you felt after landing run three and realizing you had won the gold?

GC - The moment I crashed on my first run, my knee hurt so much that I thought I wouldn’t be able to move. My first thought was, “I think I broke a bone.” I was lying on the snow crying.

Then I tried moving my toes, and I realized I could still move them. The ski patrol came over, but I knew that if they took me off the course, my competition would be over. So I begged them to wait. I knew I had to get up and make it down the pipe on my own somehow.

Everyone told me I should take a DNS (for run two) because my leg had no strength left and I could suffer an even more serious injury. But I told Coach Ben (Wisner) that I wanted to try my second run. He said, “First, you have to show me that you can walk properly.” So I gave everything I had just to walk. After I showed him, I withdrew my DNS and went back to the start.

I crashed again on my second run, but after that I had a feeling that I could do a third run.

For my third run, I decided to lower the difficulty and focus on clean execution, stability, and amplitude. I was able to do exactly what I had planned.

When I was 15 years old, I suffered a major injury and even considered quitting snowboarding. I went through three surgeries in one year and a long rehabilitation process. In that moment (at the Olympics), I realized that never giving up had been the best decision I could have made.

FIS - You first came onto the competition scene with so much hype and so much pressure as well, but you delivered right from the start by winning your first X Games start and then winning your first World Cup start. However, you also faced some incredibly serious injuries in those first couple of seasons. Can you tell me how you’ve been able to handle the highs and lows of your career so far, and how you keep coming back stronger from every injury?

GC - When I was young, I simply thought snowboarding looked cool, and that’s why I wanted to ride. As I became an athlete, I faced many difficult moments and setbacks. Every time, my parents, my family, and Coach Ben were the people who helped me keep going. They were always patient with me, believed in me, and helped me get back on my feet. They made sure I never gave up or lost my way.

FIS - “Firsts” have of course always been a big thing in snowboarding, and over the last few years for example we have seen Chloe land the first frontside and cab double cork 1080s, Maddie landing the first double cripplers and the first two-dub competition run, and Sara Shimizu is working on some new dub combos…do you have any specific tricks or combos in mind that you think might be some competition “firsts” for you to claim in the upcoming seasons?

GC - There are still some tricks that I haven’t shown in competition yet. Right now, I’m working on increasing the difficulty of my backside tricks in training. My goal is to become the first woman to land the highest-level backside tricks in competition.

FIS - Finally, what are your goals for the 2026/27 competition season? 

GC - I took some time to rest (after the Olympics), and now I’m back to training. Rather than chasing big goals right away, I want to keep improving step by step. Most importantly, I want to stay healthy and compete without any major injuries. I hope to consistently perform at a high level and show snowboard fans great riding throughout this season.

FIS - Thanks Gaon…can’t wait to see you back in the pipe and better than ever next season!