US snowboard champion Chloe Kim suffers a dislocated shoulder in training weeks before her bid for a third consecutive Olympic gold medal.
LOS ANGELES: US snowboarding star Chloe Kim has dislocated her shoulder in a training fall just weeks before the Winter Olympics.
The 25-year-old, aiming for a third consecutive halfpipe gold, announced the injury in an emotional Instagram post on Thursday.
Kim posted footage of the fall which occurred while practicing in Switzerland.
“I took the silliest fall that ultimately resulted in me dislocating my shoulder,” Kim said.
Her team is still working to determine the full extent of the damage ahead of a scheduled MRI scan.
“I don’t have much clarity right now because I haven’t gotten an MRI yet,” she added.
Any serious damage could threaten her participation in next month’s Games in Milan-Cortina.
Kim said she is trying to remain positive, noting she has range of motion and is not in severe pain.
“I am not in that much pain — obviously I just don’t want it to keep popping out, which has happened,” she said.
She expressed confidence in her current snowboarding form pending medical clearance.
“I feel really good about where my snowboarding is at right now, so I know that the minute I get cleared and I’m good to go, it should be fine,” Kim stated.
Kim became the youngest woman to win Olympic halfpipe gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games aged 17.
She also won gold in 2022 and has three World Championship titles.