Home hero Lee Chaeun grabs second gold at Gangwon 2024 on way to karaoke as proud dad and nation watch on
Senior world champion Lee delivered on big expectations, while two 14-year-olds Kudo and Shimizu maintained Japan’s dominance in women’s halfpipe at the Youth Olympics.
Snowboard
Winning two gold medals at a home Youth Olympic Games calls for a celebration.
Double Gangwon 2024 champion snowboarder Lee Chaeun is off to do just that at the nearest karaoke bar.
“It just feels so amazing, just doing my tricks in front of the Korean people, just feels so amazing,” said Lee, also revealing that he and his teammates have started a tradition of heading to karaoke after all their snow sessions at Gangwon 2024.
Facing great pressure in his signature halfpipe event, the senior world champion in the discipline delivered on every expectation with a top score of 88.50 points.
Exactly a week ago Lee was also golden in the men’s slopestyle event, and just as last time, his father Lee Kwonchul was the first person he went to share the moment with.
“He’s the one that got me into snowboarding and he was the one that taught me, so this is pretty much his medal,” Lee told Olympics.com.
Before watching the final run, Lee’s father walked among the spectators handing out yellow flags with messages of support for his son. These flags were waving enthusiastically as Lee made his third descent down the halfpipe, already assured the gold from his previous runs, and delivering tricks just to entertain the audience.
“It’s so special because the Youth Olympics are in Korea,” Lee said. “It’s crazy. It’s insane”
“Another gold medal is just incredible”
While Lee remained unmatched from the start, there was a good tussle for the silver and bronze slots.
USA's Alessandro Barbieri was sitting in fourth place after his second run. As his last chance to get a medal arrived, the rider daringly launched into a sequence he has not managed to land even during training at Gangwon 2024.
"I knew if I wanted to get on the podium, I would have to throw down something of a magnitude like that. I knew I had to do it and there's no backing out,” Barbieri said. “I just thought of my parents, thought of what they did for me, and I was like, 'I have to put it down now'. And when I put it down, just a relief of stress. And then when I got the score, even better.”
Barbieri's last-run heroics earned him the silver medal, while Japan’s Yamada Ryusei got bumped down to third.
Halfpipe gold and silver stay in Japan thanks to two 14-year-olds
Yamada’s bronze was Japan’s third medal in the halfpipe snowboard events. Earlier in the day, his teammates Kudo Rise and Shimizu Sara picked up gold and silver, respectively, in the women's discipline.
Shimizu put down an impressive 84.50 in her first run but was overtaken within minutes by her teammate and top qualifier Kudo, who scored 90.75 points.
Beaming next to her teammate, the gold around her neck, Kuda revealed the secret to her success in snowboarding at 14 years old: “I watch the video of my performances every time I compete. I always watch my rival’s videos and I try to be aware of them. That brought me a good result today.”
“I’m not sure if it’s a secret, but I hate losing,” Shimizu added. “I don’t want to give up. That also motivates me keep doing snowboarding. I think never giving up is the key.”
With their result, Kuda and Shimizu replicated the medal haul from Lausanne 2020 where fellow Japanese riders Ono Mitsuki and Kaji Manon took gold and silver.
And just as four years ago, it was Switzerland with the bronze. As Lura Wick punched her way to third, the Swiss rider was so surprised by her result that she found herself unprepared to go to the medal ceremony.
“I had to wear other shoes from my coach and this is my colleague’s jacket. It was all so hectic,” she told Olympics.com “It’s just so crazy and unbelievable. I’m so thankful for everything”