US snowboard star Kim says 'good to go' for Olympics

US snowboarding star Chloe Kim said Tuesday she will be fit to compete at next month's Winter Olympics in Italy despite suffering a shoulder injury in training last week.Kim revealed she had suffered a torn labrum in a training fall in Switzerland, and while she would not be able to train before the Olympics, she would be fit to compete.

US snowboarding star Chloe Kim says she will be fit to compete at next month's Winter Olympics despite injuring her shoulder in training last week (Sean M. Haffey)

US snowboarding star Chloe Kim said Tuesday she will be fit to compete at next month's Winter Olympics in Italy despite suffering a shoulder injury in training last week.

Kim, 25, who is chasing a third consecutive Olympic gold medal after her halfpipe golds at the 2018 and 2022 games, said in an update on Instagram she was "good to go" for the Milan-Cortina games following her injury.

Kim revealed she had suffered a torn labrum in a training fall in Switzerland, and while she would not be able to train before the Olympics, she would be fit to compete.

The snowboard star said her labrum injury was at the less serious end of the spectrum, allowing her to take part in the Olympics.

"There are two different ways to do it, and the way I did it is less severe than the other, so I'm really happy about that," Kim said. "Obviously, I'm really disappointed that I can't snowboard until right before the Olympics, which is going to be hard. 

"I haven't gotten nearly the amount of reps that I would have liked, but that's OK. It's funny I've been doing this for so long, and every season I've met different challenges.

"But again, I'm so grateful that I will be good to go for the Olympics."

Kim, who has also won three World Championship halfpipe gold medals, is one of the highest profile winter sports athletes in the United States, becoming the youngest woman to win an Olympic gold in the halfpipe at the 2018 games in Pyeongchang when she was 17.

The Milan-Cortina Olympics take place from February 6-22.

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Category: General Sports