Two-time Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim announced she’s taking a break from the 2022-23 season to focus on her mental health.
The break comes after a stunning run for the 22-year-old star snowboarder. Kim became the youngest woman to win snowboarding gold in the 2018 Winter Olympics at the age of 17 and defended her title at the 2022 Beijing Games.
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Kim told online news service Cheddar News the decision was “just for my mental health.”
“(I) just want to kind of reset. I don’t want to get right back into it after such a fun, but draining year, at the same time, knowing that it was an Olympic year,” she said.
But she won’t be gone for long, and said she’ll chase gold once again at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Italy.
“I just want to enjoy this moment, take it all in and then back to it when I’m feeling ready, but as of now the plan is most definitely to go after a third medal,” she said.
Kim noted that she’s been snowboarding since she was four and the pressure from competing at such a high level can be overwhelming.
“I think that a lot of the pressure I feel is mostly from myself and pressure that I put on myself as a professional athlete and also as somebody who genuinely loves what they do,” Kim said to Cheddar News. “I can’t help but have high expectations for myself. I want to be the best snowboarder that I can possibly be and if can’t do it, it’s frustrating, like I can’t stand it.”
