Here's How Olympian Chloe Kim Got Her Start in Snowboarding

Here's How Olympian Chloe Kim Got Her Start in Snowboarding

Chloe Kim is the snowboarder who everyone is talking about — and poised to bring home a medal in the sport from the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

But, just how did the 17-year-old athlete get her start in snowboarding? Well, we have the dad, Jong Jin, to thank for that.

Chloe had a $25 board and by the age of six, was already competing in junior competitions around the states.

“He actually dragged me to the mountain when I was 4 to bribe my mom to come snowboard with him, so it really wasn’t voluntary on my part,” Chloe revealed of her dad’s true intent. “But I’m actually really glad he did that. And I’m really glad he just kept bringing me to the mountain.”

For a while, Chloe actually moved to Switzerland with her aunt when she was just in 3rd grade, and of course snowboarding was involved — and the trip meant taking two trains and a gondola to ride the halfpipe at Avoriaz in France.

But Olympics wasn’t on the family’s mind then. The reason Chloe‘s dad sent her to Switzerland was much, much different than that.

“We didn’t really expect that you can bring her to the Olympics because her (mother’s) family, my family, no one is an athlete out of our family history,” Jong Jin said. “So the reason Chloe went to Switzerland is not because of snowboard. It’s because I want her to learn French.”

But the snowboarding bug had already bit Chloe by then.

“After I was 9 or 10, it was all uphill for me,” she shared. “I loved it more and more every year, and it was just a really exciting process for me.”

Chloe will show off her skills in the Snowboard halfpipe finals tonight @ 8PM ET/PT on NBC.

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