Chloe Kim’s father Jong Jin arrived in America with $800 in his pocket and dreams bigger than the mountain peaks his daughter would one day dominate. He worked minimum-wage jobs, earned an engineering degree from El Camino College, and eventually gave up his career entirely for one purpose—driving his youngest daughter five hours each way to Mammoth Mountain so she could chase a sport their family had never heard of before coming to California.
That sacrifice created an Olympic champion. But more than medals and records, it created someone who speaks three languages fluently, who competed in her parents’ homeland of South Korea at 17 and won gold while her grandmother watched for the first time, and who now represents what’s possible when immigrant family sacrifice meets generational talent meets relentless work ethic.
At 25, Chloe Kim enters the 2026 Winter Olympics as a two-time Olympic gold medalist in halfpipe, pursuing a rare third consecutive title—an achievement no woman has yet accomplished in the event. Despite managing shoulder injuries in recent seasons, she continues to compete at the highest level of international snowboarding.
Family Foundation: The Kim Family Story
Chloe Sun Kim was born on April 23, 2000, in Long Beach, California, though she was raised in Torrance. Her parents, Boran Yun Kim (mother) and Jong Jin Kim (father), emigrated from South Korea during the country’s authoritarian era, seeking opportunities America promised but never guaranteed.
Jong Jin’s journey defined the family’s values. After arriving with minimal English and $800, he worked whatever jobs he could find while attending El Camino College to study manufacturing engineering technology. He eventually built a stable career, but when Chloe’s talent became undeniable, he made a choice that still resonates—he quit his engineering job to become her full-time driver, coach, and support system.
Every weekend, he drove her over five hours from Torrance to Mammoth Mountain. During the week, he’d drive her to Mountain High in the San Gabriel Mountains, where she trained from age four. This wasn’t recreational parenting—this was systematic sacrifice stretching over years, fueled by belief in a daughter who showed exceptional ability before she could fully understand what it meant.
Chloe has two older sisters, Erica and Tracy, who watched their youngest sibling receive this intensive support. The family dynamics required everyone understanding that Chloe’s talent was special enough to warrant this level of investment, and her sisters have expressed pride in her achievements publicly.
Her mother Boran worked to maintain household stability while Jong Jin traveled with Chloe, creating the foundation that allowed an immigrant family to produce an Olympic champion within one generation.
Early Development: Switzerland and Sacrifice
Between ages eight and ten, during third and fourth grade, Chloe lived in Geneva, Switzerland with her aunt. This wasn’t a vacation—it was strategic training placement in Europe’s superior snowboarding infrastructure and coaching ecosystem.
Living away from her parents during elementary school years is unusual even for elite athletes, but the Kim family understood that American training facilities couldn’t match what Europe offered. Switzerland provided year-round access to glaciers, world-class coaching, and competition against European talent developing under different systems.
During these Swiss years, she became fluent in French, adding to her English and Korean. This trilingual ability reflects the immigrant family experience—maintaining Korean at home, learning English in American schools, and acquiring French through European immersion.
She returned to California and attended Dana Middle School in Torrance before her snowboarding career required more flexible educational arrangements. By age 13, she joined the U.S. Snowboarding Team, beginning her pathway through national team development toward Olympic eligibility.
Read Also: Jenna Bandy: Basketball Career, Social Media Rise and Personal Journey
Historic Records Before Olympic Eligibility
Chloe’s talent created an unusual problem—she was too good too young. By 2014, at age 13, she had qualified for the Sochi Winter Olympics based on results, but Olympic rules prohibited athletes under 15 from competing in snowboarding. She watched from home as Kelly Clark won bronze, knowing she likely would have medaled if age rules permitted.
Instead, she dominated the 2014 Winter X Games, earning silver in superpipe at just 13 years old. In 2015, she won her first X Games gold, becoming at age 14 the youngest gold medalist until Kelly Sildaru broke that record in 2016.
Then came the breakthrough that established her technical supremacy. At the 2016 U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix, she became the first woman ever to land back-to-back 1080 spins in competition—two consecutive rotations of three full aerial turns each. She scored a perfect 100 points, only the second rider in history to achieve that score after Shaun White.
At the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, she won gold in both halfpipe and slopestyle, earned the highest snowboarding score in Youth Olympic Games history, and served as Team USA’s flag bearer—the first snowboarder chosen for that honor.
By the time she became Olympic-eligible, she had already established dominance that made her PyeongChang 2018 gold medal feel inevitable rather than surprising.
PyeongChang 2018: Coming Home
The 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, carried emotional weight beyond typical competition. Chloe was competing in her parents’ homeland, where extended family including her grandmother would watch her compete for the first time.
She arrived as the favorite but faced pressure most 17-year-olds never experience—she was expected to win, and anything less would be considered failure. Korean media celebrated her as both American and Korean, embracing the dual identity that defines many second-generation immigrants.
In the halfpipe final, she scored 98.25 points on her first run—nearly perfect, ten points ahead of her nearest competitor. She had essentially won gold with her opening run, allowing her remaining attempts to be celebratory rather than desperate.
The gold made her the youngest woman to ever win Olympic snowboarding gold in halfpipe. More significantly, it validated her family’s sacrifices—Jong Jin’s career change, Boran’s solo household management, the Swiss years away from family, thousands of hours driving to mountains.
After winning, she spoke emotionally about representing both America and Korea: “I have this different opportunity because I’m Korean-American, but I’m riding for the States. I’m starting to understand that I can represent both countries.”
The victory also exposed the racism she faces despite being American. She revealed receiving up to 30 hateful messages daily questioning her American identity, demanding she “go back” despite being born in California. This ugly reality accompanies her achievements—being told she doesn’t belong in the country she represents.
Mental Health Crisis and Princeton Pause
After PyeongChang, Chloe experienced what many young champions face—burnout, pressure, and losing sight of why she started. In fall 2019, she enrolled at Princeton University, one of the world’s top academic institutions, seeking something beyond snowboarding.
“I was burnt out from snowboarding and wanted a break from the celebrity that comes with being a star athlete,” she explained. The decision shocked the snowboarding world—Olympic champions don’t typically pause careers at their peak for undergraduate education.
At Princeton, she attempted normal college life—classes, campus activities, relative anonymity. But after one year, she took a leave of absence in 2020, eventually deciding not to return to complete her degree. The pandemic changed college experience fundamentally, and she realized she missed competition more than she valued the degree.
Her honesty about mental health struggles helped normalize these conversations in sports. She spoke openly about losing competitive drive, questioning her identity beyond snowboarding, and the difficulty of being famous at 18 for something you started doing at age four because your dad thought it looked fun.
Beijing 2022: Defending Gold Against Doubt
Returning to competition after her Princeton pause, Chloe faced questions about whether her skills had eroded. Some competitors and media suggested her break meant she’d lost her edge.
At the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, she answered emphatically. She qualified for the final in first place with a score of 87.75 on her first run. In the final, she scored 94.00—again on her first run—securing her second consecutive Olympic gold medal.
She used her remaining two runs to attempt new tricks, falling both times with low scores of 27.00 and 26.25. But it didn’t matter—her opening run had already secured victory, making her the first female snowboarder to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in halfpipe.
The victory was particularly sweet given the doubt. She’d proven that taking time for mental health doesn’t mean losing competitive ability—sometimes it means returning stronger because you’ve rediscovered why you loved it.
Continuing Olympic Career
Following her back-to-back Olympic victories in 2018 and 2022, Chloe Kim entered the next phase of her career as one of the leading figures in women’s halfpipe snowboarding. She continued competing at world championships and major international events, expanding her technical repertoire while maintaining consistency at the highest level.
As a two-time Olympic gold medalist, she returned to the 2026 Winter Olympics representing the United States once again. Her participation reflects sustained excellence over nearly a decade at the top of the sport, regardless of individual event outcomes.
Relationship with Myles Garrett
In November 2025, Chloe publicly confirmed her relationship with Myles Garrett, the star defensive end for the Cleveland Browns and one of the NFL’s most dominant players. The couple publicly confirmed their relationship in late 2025 and have since appeared together at several events.
The relationship makes them one of the highest-profile athlete couples in American sports. Garrett is one of the NFL’s top defensive players and has built a successful professional career of his own
They bonded over shared interests beyond athletics—both are passionate about video games and anime. Chloe has joked that Myles is “so good at video games,” appreciating having a partner who understands elite-level competition pressure. They attended the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards together in Tokyo, where Chloe was a presenter.
View this post on Instagram
Garrett traveled to Italy for the 2026 Olympics to support her, and they’ve had playful public debates about who’s more dominant in their respective sport—a discussion with no clear answer but plenty of mutual respect.
She was previously in a relationship with skateboarder Evan Berle, which lasted from around 2020 until 2025. That relationship ended before she began dating Garrett, though specific details about the breakup remain private.
Physical Profile and Competitive Identity
At 5’3″ (160 cm), Chloe is relatively short even for female snowboarders, but her height works as an advantage in halfpipe—lower center of gravity provides stability during aerial maneuvers, and less body mass means faster rotations.
Her athletic build reflects years of specialized training—powerful legs for explosive takeoffs, core strength for aerial control, and upper body development for balance. Her torn labrum demonstrates the physical toll snowboarding takes—shoulders absorb tremendous impact during landings and falls.
She’s spoken about the superstitious ritual of knocking twice on her snowboard before runs for good luck, a small personal tradition she maintains even at the Olympics. During her 2018 gold medal run, she played Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” in her headphones, showing the personality behind the technical excellence.
Net Worth and Endorsements
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Chloe Kim’s estimated net worth is approximately $10 million as of 2026. Other estimates range from $2 million to $10 million depending on methodology and timing.
The primary source of her wealth isn’t competition prize money—it’s endorsements. According to EssentiallySports analysis, A significant portion of her income comes from long-term endorsement partnerships with global brands, including Nike, Monster Energy, Mountain Dew, Breitling, Moncler, Kellogg’s, Visa, Target, Beats by Dre, and Toyota.
Read Also: Elizabeth Lemley Biography: Age, Family, Career Journey & Personal Life
About The Author
