It’s Winter Olympics time! Heading into the 2026 Milano Cortina Games, Chloe Kim has been one of the most buzzed-about United States athletes.
Kim previously competed at the Olympics in 2018 and 2022, but just weeks before things kicked off in Italy, she suffered a shoulder injury that left her fate in this year’s Games up in the air. Scroll down for everything we know about the injury, whether she’ll compete, and more.
What happened to Chloe Kim’s shoulder?
Kim suffered a torn labrum in her shoulder in early January. She was training for a pre-Olympic competition in Switzerland when she fell and dislocated her shoulder. “I was on my second day of training and I took the silliest fall,” Kim admitted in an Instagram video.
In the video caption, she expressed her fears that she may not be well enough to compete at the Olympics. “The only thing I can do is rest/do everything in my power to come back as soon as possible,” she wrote.
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At the time of her January 8 video, she hadn’t gotten an MRI yet. The torn labrum result came after the MRI the following day.
Will Chloe Kim compete in the 2026 Olympics?
Yes, Kim is able to compete in the Olympics following her January injury. However, she had to limit her training ahead of the Games. Kim did not compete in the final pre-Olympics World Cup in Switzerland, and had to keep off her snowboard until “right before the Olympics.”
Luckily, Kim had someone great to turn to for advice: Shaun White, who was injured just months before snowboarding in the 2018 Olympics. “I told her, ‘The road to the Olympics is never a straight one,’” White recalled, per USA Today. “There are twists and turns and things that happen along the way, but you know what you need to do, and right now you need to get better, and you need to recover, and you can come back and be strong and perform.’”
Kim will be competing in the women’s snowboard halfpipe event at the Games. The qualification round takes place on Wednesday, February 11, followed by the final on Thursday, February 12.
How many gold medals does Chloe Kim have?
Kim has two gold medals, both in the women’s snowboard halfpipe event. She received her first at the 2018 Olympics and her second at the 2022 Olympics.
The professional athlete is hoping to break a major record by becoming the first woman to receive three consecutive gold medals in snowboard halfpipe at the 2026 Winter Games.
2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony, Friday, February 6, 2/1c, NBC
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