LIVIGNO, Italy — The dynasty didn’t end. It just took a detour.
On a snowy Thursday night in the Italian Alps, snowboarding icon Chloe Kim fell just short of a historic Olympic three-peat, securing silver in the women’s halfpipe with a score of 88.00. The gold went to South Korean teenage phenom Gaon Choi, who dropped a massive 90.25 on her final run to unseat the queen.
But the real story wasn’t just the score. It was the sight of NFL superstar Myles Garrett — fresh off a record-shattering 23-sack season — waiting at the bottom of the pipe, trading his Cleveland Browns helmet for the role of “supportive boyfriend.”
The Passing of the Torch?
Make no mistake: Kim didn’t lose this gold; Choi won it. The 17-year-old Choi recovered from a nasty crash on her first run to stomp a clean, technical masterclass in her third attempt. For Kim, the silver is miraculous considering the context.
Just one month ago, Kim tore the labrum in her shoulder during a training run in Switzerland. She arrived in Italy with a brace, minimal practice, and the weight of the world on her board. She dominated qualifiers with a 90.25 but couldn’t quite replicate that magic when the snow began to dump during the finals.
“It was a disappointing result, to be sure,” Kim admitted, shaking off the rust of a season spent largely in rehab. “But [Myles] gets it. He understands the pressure and all of that. He’s my rock.”
Garrett’s “Offseason” Mode
While Kim battled gravity, Garrett battled the paparazzi. The newly crowned unanimous NFL Defensive Player of the Year looked almost relieved to be a spectator. After an exhausting 2025 campaign where he finally eclipsed the single-season sack record, Garrett flew to Italy to support Kim, calling himself a “silent competitor” in their relationship.
Kim joked about their dynamic on The Today Show Friday morning.
“I’m like, ‘I will beat you in this game right here, right now.’ We played backgammon before the final and he got me there, but we need a rematch.”
— Chloe Kim, 3x Olympic Medalist
The crossover appeal is undeniable. You have the NFL’s most feared defender and snowboarding’s most dominant rider, both at the apex of their careers, navigating injuries and expectations together.
What’s Next for the Power Couple
Garrett returns to Cleveland to prepare for life under new head coach Todd Monken, tasked with turning those individual accolades into the one thing missing from Garrett’s résumé: a deep playoff run. The Browns have wasted stellar defensive years before, but Monken’s arrival signals a fresh offensive philosophy that could finally complement Garrett’s dominance.
As for Kim, the silver medal completes a set. At 25, she has plenty of tread left on the tires for a run at the 2030 Games in the French Alps. But for now, the only competition on her schedule is that backgammon rematch.
