Chloe Kim Wins Silver After Relearning Tricks in 8 Days

Chloe Kim had eight days to do what seemed impossible: relearn her snowboarding tricks with one arm basically strapped to her side.

The 25-year-old American tore her labrum in late January, less than a month before the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Her shoulder kept popping out of place, and she didn't have time for the surgery needed to fix it.

So Kim made a choice. She'd compete anyway.

"I had a shoulder brace on that restricted a lot of the movement," Kim told CBS Mornings on Tuesday. "I wasn't able to raise my arm and I couldn't move my arm much at all."

Most of her tricks require using both arms. With her left shoulder immobilized, she had to figure out entirely new ways to perform moves she'd spent years perfecting.

She gave herself eight days. On the eighth day, she competed in the Olympic finals and won silver.

The medal made Kim the first female snowboarder to reach the Olympic podium in halfpipe at three straight Games. She won gold in 2018 and 2022.

Why This Inspires

Kim's story isn't just about overcoming injury. It's about the determination to show up even when circumstances aren't perfect.

She could have withdrawn and waited for 2030. Instead, she adapted and found a way forward with the body she had, not the one she wished she had.

Her boyfriend, Cleveland Browns player Myles Garrett, flew out to support her along with family and friends. "It just made a really intense stressful moment so light and kind of grounded me," Kim said.

Team USA won 33 medals at the Milan-Cortina Games, including a record 12 gold medals. Kim especially celebrated the American women who made history alongside her.

"I love my girls and we killed it," she said.

Kim plans to get surgery now that the Games are over. As for competing in the 2030 Olympics in the French Alps, she's not thinking that far ahead yet.

For now, she's celebrating what she accomplished with one working shoulder and eight days to prepare: another place on the podium and proof that sometimes showing up is the bravest thing you can do.