Choi Ga-on Lands First Women's Backside 1080 in Halfpipe After Olympic Gold and Injury Comeback

Three full turns put Choi in the record books

Choi Ga-on has become the first woman to land a backside 1080 in a snowboard halfpipe, adding a new technical milestone to a season in which she won South Korea's first Olympic gold medal in a snow sport. The Snow League announced the achievement on Instagram on October 16, Korea time, after the 17-year-old completed the trick at Stomping Grounds Park in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.

A 1080 means three complete rotations in the air: 360 degrees multiplied by three. Backside describes the direction of the rotation. Together, the rotation, takeoff and landing make this a different challenge from other tricks carrying the same number of degrees.

Choi, a student at Seoul's Sehwa Girls' High School, celebrated the achievement on Instagram:

World's first backside 1080

The Snow League's official account replied:

Iconic.

The announcement did not give the exact date of the successful attempt or a competition score. Its significance is the completed trick itself, a new addition to the range of moves women have landed in the halfpipe.

For Choi, the achievement follows a much longer recovery. At 15, she suffered a spinal injury that required three operations and a year of rehabilitation. In February 2026, she recovered from two falls in the Olympic final to win gold. She subsequently secured the women's halfpipe World Cup season title and is now preparing for another Snow League campaign.

What makes a backside 1080 different?

Halfpipe riders travel between the walls of a structure shaped like a giant letter U, launching above its edges to perform spins and board grabs. Each landing supplies speed for the next takeoff, so a small error can affect several moves rather than just one.

A 720 involves two full turns, a 900 involves two and a half, and a 1080 involves three. Riders also change their direction of rotation and their stance. Riding switch means travelling with the opposite foot leading from the rider's usual position.

Choi's new backside 1080 extends a technical range already visible in her Olympic performance. The Snow League's official athlete profile describes her gold medal run as combining large jumps with spins in all four directions.

Judges assess more than the number of rotations. Difficulty, height and execution all matter. A complicated trick needs a controlled landing, and a successful competition run requires several moves linked together. Choi's Olympic victory showed how a complete, clean run can carry more value than an ambitious attempt interrupted by a fall.

The Olympic final that nearly ended early

Choi won Olympic gold at Livigno Snow Park on February 12, 2026. The official Olympic account records her winning score as 90.25, ahead of American Chloe Kim on 88.00 and Japan's Mitsuki Ono on 85.00.

Her first attempt brought a heavy crash. After opening with a switch backside 900, Choi clipped the edge of the pipe while attempting her next move and fell onto the bottom. Medical staff attended to her before she rode away under her own power. The run earned 10.00 points.

A DNS marker, meaning Did Not Start, initially appeared beside her name before her second attempt. Choi nevertheless returned to the start. She fell again on her opening move, leaving her with one remaining chance to produce a competitive score.

The final gave each of its 12 riders three attempts, with only the best score counting. Choi therefore still had a route to gold despite her first two falls. Her last run needed to be strong enough to beat Kim's 88.00.

Choi, speaking after the final, described the strain of the competition:

During the final, mentally it was so tough,

She also explained how she approached the last attempt:

I just kept thinking about the technique I was originally doing.

Five connected tricks delivered gold

Choi opened her final run with a switch backside 900, followed by a cab 720, a frontside 900, a backside 900 and a frontside 720. She reduced the difficulty from her earlier plan and completed all five moves.

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation's Olympic final report also records the board grabs that accompanied those spins. These included a mute grab on the opening jump, a melon grab on the frontside 900 and a stalefish grab on the backside 900. Grabs require riders to hold part of the board while airborne, adding control and style to the rotation.

Her 90.25 moved her into first place with five riders still to compete. Kim, seeking a third consecutive Olympic title after victories in 2018 and 2022, fell in her final attempt. Choi finished 2.25 points ahead of Kim and 5.25 ahead of Ono.

At 17 years and three months, Choi became the youngest women's Olympic halfpipe champion, breaking Kim's previous age record by about seven months. Her victory also delivered South Korea's first gold medal of the Milano Cortina Games.

A mentor became her closest rival

Chloe Kim had been part of Choi's development long before the two competed for Olympic gold. Choi trained through the Mammoth Mountain Snowboard Team, and the Snow League identifies Kim as her mentor.

Choi said the American champion supported her during the final after her crash. Speaking about Kim after winning gold, she said:

My sister, Chloe, has always been my role model since I was young, and she comforted me during the final when I fell. I'm glad to have won, but I feel even happier to have competed alongside her.

Kim was also competing after an injury. She had dislocated her shoulder during training in January and said she had no practice repetitions on snow before the Games. Her opening score of 88.00 nevertheless held the lead until Choi's final run.

Kim, a double Olympic champion entering the event, described watching her younger rival succeed:

It was so inspirational. It's so funny because she won her first Olympic gold medal at the same age as I did. It's such a full-circle moment. I've known Gaon since she was little, and it means a lot to see that I've inspired the next generation and they're now out here killing it.

Three operations and a year away from snowboarding

Choi's return to elite competition followed a serious injury in Laax, Switzerland, when she was 15. In a later account of her recovery, she described a spinal compression fracture, an injury in which a bone in the spine is crushed or collapses.

Emergency spinal fusion surgery followed. Fusion joins bones in the spine to provide stability. Choi said that she and those around her feared she might never snowboard again.

Ten days later, a bacterial infection forced another emergency admission to hospital. She underwent a second operation to remove the infection and a third emergency procedure involving a bone graft taken from her pelvis.

Choi spent a month in hospital receiving intensive antibiotic treatment. Recovery also meant confronting fear and depression. She said rehabilitation took a year before she could return to snowboarding.

Her account connected that experience directly to the meaning of her subsequent season title. She described feeling proud that she had not given up, explaining that she had initially been reluctant to revisit the injury but decided to discuss it after repeated requests.

A wrist fracture diagnosed shortly after the Olympics added another period of treatment. By September, she was again taking part in an international event, with further competition ahead.

Her season included much more than Olympic gold

Choi entered the Olympics with three victories from three World Cup starts in the 2025–26 season, a perfect winning record across the events she entered. FIS recorded her as the leader of the standings at the time of the Games.

She went on to secure the women's halfpipe season title and became the first South Korean to receive a FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe Crystal Globe. The trophy recognises success across the World Cup season, giving her a second major achievement alongside the Olympic title.

Her early results had already suggested that potential. At 14, Choi won X Games gold and her first World Cup event during her debut season. The Snow League also credits her with the highest score at its opening Aspen event, 93.75, followed by another event best score in China.

The league profile lists her best event result as third in Aspen, with a world ranking of eighth and 124 points. A highest individual score and a final event placing measure different things: the score describes one performance, while the placing reflects the outcome of the event's competition format.

From a team event to another Aspen start

Choi's September schedule included the Snow League World Challenge at Cardrona, New Zealand, a special invitational arranged before the regular season. She was the only South Korean invited and was assigned to the Asia-Pacific team.

The event was scheduled for September 19 and introduced a team format involving North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and The Challengers. The announced structure combined men and women competing in snowboarding and freestyle skiing, moving away from the individual contest familiar to World Cup followers.

Choi, speaking through her management agency All That Sports before the event, explained why she accepted:

After the Olympics, I had moments when I wanted to rest, but I always found myself thinking about being back on the snow. When I first received the invitation, I was intrigued because it's a team event, and I decided to participate with great excitement.

She also said she looked forward to the winners' opportunity to go heliboarding, which uses a helicopter to reach terrain for snowboarding. Her next scheduled Snow League appearance is the Season Two opener at Aspen Snowmass in the United States on January 7, 2027.

Born on November 3, 2008, Choi was still 17 at the October announcement and would turn 18 before that Aspen event. Her growing public profile has also extended beyond competition: a fan club post drew attention to footage of her dancing with members of the K-pop group CORTIS.

The dates behind a rapid return

Choi's latest achievement brings together several stages of a comeback, from lengthy rehabilitation to consistent victories and a new trick. The main milestones show how quickly her competitive position changed after she returned to snowboarding.

• At age 14: Choi won X Games gold and her first World Cup event during her debut season.
• At age 15: A spinal injury in Laax led to three operations, a month in hospital and a year of rehabilitation.
• Before the February 2026 Olympics: She won all three World Cup events she entered that season.
• February 12, 2026: She won Olympic halfpipe gold in Livigno with 90.25 points.
• During the 2025–26 season: She secured the women's halfpipe World Cup title and a Crystal Globe.
• September 19, 2026: The World Challenge was scheduled in Cardrona, with Choi selected for Asia-Pacific.
• October 16, 2026: The Snow League announced her successful backside 1080 in Saas-Fee.
• January 7, 2027: She is scheduled to compete at the Snow League Season Two opener in Aspen Snowmass.

Choi has also spoken about what an Olympic title could mean for snowboarding in South Korea. After the Games, she said she hoped her victory would encourage more people to take an interest in a sport she felt received too little attention at home.

Key Points

• Choi Ga-on became the first woman to land a backside 1080 in a snowboard halfpipe, according to the Snow League.
• The trick involves three full rotations and was completed at Stomping Grounds Park in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.
• She won Olympic gold on February 12, 2026, scoring 90.25 after falling on her first two attempts.
• Her return followed a spinal injury, three operations and a year of rehabilitation.
• She also won the 2025–26 women's halfpipe World Cup season title and South Korea's first FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe Crystal Globe.
• Her next scheduled Snow League event begins January 7, 2027, at Aspen Snowmass.