Chloe Kim is the 17-year-old snowboarder that shocked everyone during the 2018 Winter Olympics with her insane talents on the halfpipe. She earned herself a gold medal after excelling in the categories she competed in, leading the U.S. to a huge win. The daughter of immigrants, Kim was referred to as an “American dream” by her father and she lives up to the praise. Previous to this year’s Olympics she had already been considered one of the best but was unable to participate because of her age. That being said, she felt that everything happened for a reason, as Kim explained to NBC: “Now that I think about it, I’m really glad I wasn’t able to go…I don’t think I would’ve been able to take it, to handle the pressure. Emotionally, I don’t think I was ready.” Kim must have known what she was doing because she struck gold on her Olympic debut!
Courtesy: NY Daily News
Along with Kim’s victory came commotion about just how relatable the 17-year-old was throughout the Olympic games. Nervous as she was, Kim tweeted about her anxieties and explained her remedies for calming them: churros. Giving solid advice, Kim suggested eating a churro if you’re ever feeling nervous. Churros may not be my dessert of choice, but if stress-eating isn’t the most relatable thing ever, I don’t know what is. Before the games even finished, Kim started tweeting about regretting her decision to not eat her breakfast sandwich and how hangry she was. Um, same! I felt like I was reading my own mid-class tweets complaining about how hungry I am, but it was from an Olympian! I don’t think I’ve “Same”-ed an Olympian ever before in my life.
Courtesy: CNBC
She also, may I remind you, tweeted about her desires for some ice cream mid-Olympics and everyone was like “lol, same,” because who doesn’t want ice cream when they’re at work? Olympians often feel like hyper-capable, supernatural beings anointed with innate talents us regular-shmegular people could never be like, and honestly, they are. BUT, we forget they are still humans who forget to eat breakfast and want ice cream at inopportune times. Or, like fellow American Olympian Red Gerard, they’re humans who accidentally sleep in after staying up late to binge-watch Netflix the night before, and then accidentally slip the F-word in front people when we aren’t supposed to (like on national television). Olympians are just like us!
Courtesy: Vulture
After winning her gold medals, people questioned why she hadn’t cried when she received it. She went on NBC News’s Today and told Savannah Guthrie just why she refused to shed any tears on that podium while the national anthem was playing: “I was trying so hard to hold the tears back ‘cause I was like, ‘I can’t cry right now, I can’t do this, I worked so hard on my eyeliner.’” Anybody’s who tried to perfect their wings can understand why Kim wouldn’t let even one of the biggest moments of her life ruin her look.
Congrats on your victory, Chloe Kim! May this be the first of many!
Courtesy: Giphy