Snowboarder Choi Ga-on claims second straight title at FIS Snowboard World Cup
![Snowboarder Choi Ga-on competes in the women's halfpipe final at the FIS Snowboard World Cup at Copper Mountain, Colorado, on Dec. 19. [AFP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/12/21/150bb255-91ba-4683-824c-d96752c515d1.jpg)
Snowboarder Choi Ga-on competes in the women's halfpipe final at the FIS Snowboard World Cup at Copper Mountain, Colorado, on Dec. 19. [AFP/YONHAP]
Choi Ga-on claimed her second consecutive title at the FIS Snowboard World Cup by scoring 94.5 points in the women's halfpipe final at Copper Mountain, Colorado, on Friday.
She was the only contender to score over 90 points in the final, with runner-up Sena Tomita of Japan registering 88.75 points.
Choi had scored 93 points two days earlier in Heat 2 — the highest score for both the first and second qualifiers.
Friday's title marks her second straight World Cup victory, as she won the halfpipe event with a score of 92.75 on Dec. 11.
Choi, who took her first World Cup title in December 2023 in the United States, now has three career World Cup wins.
Her successful run on the international stage comes before the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, set to kick off in February 2026.
American snowboarder Chloe Kim, who topped Heat 1 with 90.33 points, withdrew before the final due to physical discomfort during practice.
Two of the 10 qualified contenders did not compete in the final, with Kim finishing ninth based on her qualifying score.
Kim, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the women’s halfpipe at PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022, remains the sport's most prominent figure.
This is the first time Choi has won a World Cup event that included Kim in the starting lineup. Kim did not compete in the previous two World Cups, during which Choi topped the podium.
“The weather was bad [...] so it wasn’t easy,” Choi said through her agency All That Sports. “I fell during my first run, but I managed to regain my focus for the second. After finishing two World Cup events, I really feel [the pressure] as the next Olympics approach. I’ll do my best to be in top shape [there].”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PIH JU-YOUNG [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]
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