Gold medallist Choi Gaon of Korea reacts on the podium after winning the Women's Snowboard Halfpipe in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 12. Reuters-Yonhap
MILAN — Teen snowboarder Choi Gaon, freshly crowned as the women's halfpipe champion at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in northern Italy, believes she was born fearless.
At least, her competitive fire burns so bright that it often extinguishes what little fear she may develop during competition.
The 17-year-old had to summon every bit of that fire Thursday at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, north of Milan, where she bounced back from a potentially devastating fall to soar to the improbable gold medal.
"I've always been fearless," Choi said at a press conference at Korea House in downtown Milan on Saturday, two days after beating two-time defending champion and Korean American superstar Chloe Kim for her first Olympic gold. "I think my competitive drive overrides fear. Growing up with an older sister and an older brother must have helped."
Choi was regarded as a medal contender entering the halfpipe final, having captured three World Cup titles this season. But her medal hopes seemed all but dashed when Choi took a nasty fall while trying to complete the first of her three runs down the pipe.
She stayed down for a few minutes while being tended to by medics. She eventually left the flat area under her own power, though she barely had any strength in her legs at that moment.
"As soon as I went down, I started thinking I had to get right back up, but I couldn't put any weight on my legs," Choi said. "Medics told me if I got on a stretcher, I had to be moved to a hospital. But I thought I was going to regret it if I gave up my Olympics right there. I wanted to take my time, but they told me I had to be quick to get the competition going. I started moving my toes and gradually gained strength back in my legs."
Even then, performing another run didn't seem feasible or even sensible. The "DNS (Did Not Start)" sign flashed next to Choi's name on the official leaderboard before her second run, with her coaches telling the boarder not to risk anything.
"I told my coaches that I would absolutely not do a DNS," she said. "My legs got better as I started walking around a little. So we made the last-minute change, and I decided to keep competing."
Source: Korea Times News
