Olympics:Gold for Choi, Gritty Bronze for Ono in Livigno

KYODO/APP

Livingo: Japan’s Mitsuki Ono won bronze in the women’s snowboard halfpipe, while South Korea’s 17-year-old Choi Ga On captured gold at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics the other day.

Competing at Livigno Snow Park in challenging, snowy conditions, Ono scored 85.00 points on her opening run, highlighted by a frontside 1080, securing a podium finish.

“My last Games ended with real frustration and I’m happy to have worked hard using that as a springboard,” said the 21-year-old, who finished ninth on her Olympic debut in Beijing before going on to claim back-to-back World Cup season titles in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

“I made a mistake with my first run yesterday during qualifying, but I nailed it today and went aggressive with my second and third. The whole event really went well. The level of perfection was like never before. I’ve given my all, and I’m genuinely happy,” she added.

Read More: https://thepenpk.com/three-way-tie-as-winter-olympics-medal-race-heats-up/

Choi sealed gold with a superb third and final run, earning 90.25 points to overtake American star Chloe Kim, who had posted 88.00 on her first run. The South Korean teenager had fallen on her first two attempts before delivering the winning performance.

Kim, the top qualifier and two-time defending Olympic champion, had a final chance to reclaim gold but fell on her last run and was unable to improve her score, settling for silver.

Japan’s Sara Shimizu finished fourth with 84.00 points, narrowly missing the podium despite recovering from two earlier falls. Fellow Japanese rider Rise Kudo, 16, placed fifth with 81.75, while 2022 bronze medalist Sena Tomita ended ninth with 68.25.

Ono praised her younger teammates for creating a “great atmosphere” within the national squad and providing strong motivation.

Shimizu, the 2025 world championship runner-up, said she was disappointed to miss out on a medal by just one point but remained upbeat.

“I was too excited before the final and kept saying that all the way from the athletes’ village,” she said. “I was really looking forward to it, and it still feels fun looking back now. It’s frustrating after coming so close to a medal, but I’ll be aiming for next time, building on this.”