Joshua Raymundo
Staff Writer
On Feb. 9-25, South Korea hosted the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, an event in which countries from all across the world compete in sports such as figure skating and ski slalom.
Snowboarder Chloe Kim from Torrance, CA, won the women’s half-pipe. Kim described that the experience, although rewarding, was stressful and filled with tension.
“[I waited] four years to come here,” she said in an interview, later revealing that “there is a lot of pressure to do well.”
According to Northwest Asian Weekly, Kim’s first run earned a score of 93.75, while her final run secured the gold medal with an almost perfect score of 98.75.
“[I worked] for something [for] so long, and it’s finally here,” Kim stated. “[I went] home with the best possible outcome. It’s amazing.”
Kim also acknowledged her parents and their support for her throughout her journey. Time Magazine noted that her parents were at the Olympics to express their love and devotion, and her father held up a laminated sign that said “Go Chloe!”
Mirai Nagasu, born and raised in Arcadia, CA, was able to obtain second place in the women’s free skate with a score of 137.43, guiding the U.S. to a bronze medal in the team skate. According to the New York Times, Nagasu’s high score was aided by landing a triple axel, a jump of three and a half rotations.
“I could always visualize myself doing the jump,” Nagasu said. “It was just getting my muscles to react as they needed to.”
Through continual hard work, Nagasu was able to land this jump eight out of every ten times in practice, which enabled her to become confident enough to execute the triple axle on the big stage. On Feb. 11, she became the first American woman and third female Olympian to ever land the triple axel at the Olympics.
Nagasu attributes her success to her parents, who owns a sushi restaurant, Kiyosuzu, in Arcadia. Nagasu’s father, Kiyoto, has missed many of his daughter’s competitions to keep the restaurant running.
“I have a great work ethic because I’ve watched my parents work super hard,” Nagasu stated.
Californian Shaun White from Carlsbad was able to win his third gold medal in the half-pipe event. The snowboarder shed tears of joy after seeing his high marks of 97.75.
“I just felt so overwhelmed. Honestly, I’ve been through so much to get to this point,” White said to reporters immediately after his run, referencing the injury that caused him to a miss a few months of training.
White’s third gold medal can be attributed to his use of a frontside double cork 1440 and a cab double cork 1440, a combination so extreme that he had never even landed the move in practice.
“It’s all worth it now,” expressed White.
