Milan is nice, but I miss Korea so much. I’m leaving tomorrow evening, and I can’t wait to go back and eat the meal my grandmother made.” She was the picture of a typical teenage girl. Choi Ga-on, 18,

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Some might say the seeds of an Olympic-sized surprise in snowboarding were planted a month ago. That’s when Chloe Kim went skittering down a halfpipe in Switzerland, smashing her shoulder and turning her run for a third straight gold medal into a less-than-perfect scramble.

It was 17-year-old Gaon Choi, whose body had been twisted and bruised by two gnarly falls, standing up and stomping a run that had taken the lead and put Kim in a position she hadn’t experienced very often in her forever career.

Korea's Gaon Choi, 17, rebounded from a hard fall to win gold — and end her role model's historic bid for three in a row in the Winter Olympic halfpipe.

For athletes at the ongoing 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, a podium finish can come with six-figure checks.

From the U.S. women’s curling team opening Day 1 of competition with a win, to Charlie Mickel and Landon Wendler advancing in men’s moguls, check out highlights from Day 6 of the Winter Olympics.

Choi Ga-on of Sehwa Girls’ High School, who secured South Korea’s first gold medal at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, returned home on the 16th. Upon arriving, Choi shared her feelings about winning gold and returning: “Until just yesterday,

"Amid pressing international conflicts, the Olympics is one of the most significant geopolitical events of the year."