Sometimes people inspire others through their compassion, their courage, or their bravery. Some inspire through their achievements. Born and raised in Long Beach, California, Chloe Kim, a 17 year old Korean American is one of the Olympics best snowboarders. The young gold medalist is only rising in her advance to stardom, but it wasn’t easy to get there. Chloe Kim is the first woman to land back to back 1080’s on the Olympic snowboarding team, and a pioneer in her sport at only age 17, she gives inspiration to all young girls. She inspires others to chase their dreams no matter how big or small. She shows that through grit, determination and confidence you can achieve your goals.

Kim’s willpower and mindset of never giving up her hopes and dreams— despite many people who thought she couldn’t— made her a courageous role model and hero.

Kim has admitted, ‘I definitely, when I was younger, struggled a little to understand my identity and who I wanted to be.’ And she's described having to face insensitive attitudes:  ‘I always get the question: Where are you from?’ ‘L.A.’ No, where are you really from?’ ‘I was born in Long Beach.’ ‘No, no, no, where are you really, really, really from?’ ‘My parents are from Korea.’ Oh, OK.'’(Biography.com) 

While struggling to find herself, she tries to work through insensitive questions regarding her race, and how it affects her outlook on her sport. She began her snowboarding career when she was only four years old when her dad took her up to a California Mountain High Ski Resort, and she immediately took to it. By age six, she was already on a snowboarding team. Sensing she had potential, her father sent her to live with her aunt up in Switzerland when she was only eight years old. There, she studied French as her parents had asked her to, along with English and Korean, proving that she was multi talented. Her time in Europe, however increased her love of snowboarding. While she spent time in Europe, she was made fun of in her schools because of her race. She would stand out, being part of the only few people of the school who looked like her and enjoyed things she did. But through her experiences, she remained strong and did not let people get to her.

She moved back to the United States at age 10 a few years later with her heart bound and determined, she had her sights on being an Olympian. “After returning to her native California to hone her skills at Mammoth Mountain, she earned a place on the US snowboard team, an achievement that fired her dreams of appearing at the Olympic Winter Games. (International)” Not deterred by her age, she advanced by leaps and bounds to the Olympic Games only a few years after beginning snowboarding. However, she, at the time, was only 13 years old, so she was not permitted to compete by the Olympics’ age rules. Even though met with a roadblock, she had already been taken notice of by interviewers, reporters and people around the world for her extraordinary skill at such a young age. She was looked up to at only age 13. Although she wasn’t allowed to compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics, she did not give up. She continued to do all sorts of leagues from winning gold in the X Games, winter Youth Junior Olympics. Through it all, she never gave up because she wasn’t getting anywhere. She stayed content in her position and only tried harder every day.

Her dad began to take notice of how she was flourishing in her sport, and it wasn’t a mere hobby anymore, but a full fledged sport. “Jong quit his engineering job to devote himself to her training schedule, which included carrying her out the door a few hours after midnight every Friday so that she could be out on the snowboarders' terrain at the Mammoth Lakes winter-sports resort. (Gale)” Her father became dedicated to helping his daughter excel in her sport career, which was beginning to look promising. Her dad was devoted to her getting better every day and was supportive, from carrying her out of bed to go practice, to driving her in the dark hours of the morning to Mammoth, which was six hours from their house, every Friday.

This dedication that transcended from her dad to her made her the devoted and determined athlete and woman she was and is today, as she inspires more and more people to not give up for what they want.  She, through it all, stayed determined, and didn’t let anyone who said she couldn't do it, anyone who said she was the wrong race, anyone who said she was a girl, stop her. She wanted to support her race, American and Korean. She brought herself all the way to the top, winning gold in the Sochi Winter Olympics and the first girl to ever do double 1080’s, and had both her proud countries resting on her shoulders as she stood on the pedestal, blond ponytails hanging beside her goggles. Kim shows that no matter how young or how people underestimate you or bully you for what you want, to never give up because you can show them what you came to do, and to have determination.

Besides being a great role model, Kim has blazed a path throughout her athletic career and has been a pioneer in her field, being only 17 and an inspiration to all young girls.  “Kim’s outstanding qualifying performance established her as an elite snowboarder and earned her a spot on the Olympic team… She also earned a reputation as a record breaker, becoming the first woman ever to land back-to-back 1080s and score a perfect 100 at the Park City Grand Prix in February of 2016 Gale Biography in Context).” She has earned herself a reputation because of the fact she is so young and so good at the sport, and she has paved the way for women in the sport of snowboarding. At only age 13, she had secured herself a spot in the 2014 Winter Olympics, but could not compete solely because of her age.

Although her Olympic spot was taken away, she was determined to show them that she deserved that spot. She went on to compete in the X Games and passed with flying colors and blew all the others out of the water. She showed that although you’re gonna hit roadblocks in your journey, that you have to persevere to achieve what you want. After her X Games career, she moved onto Oslo’s Vinterpark Games and scored a near perfect score in the halfpipe, and again, there blinded the judges with her young skill. Besides being a terrific athlete, along her countless snowboarding medals from X Games to the Olympics, she was given attention from Sports Illustrated because of her status on her social media platforms and the inspiration she gives young girls.

As Chloe said, “I was so fortunate to find my passion and the thing that brought me so much joy at such a young age. If you are young or even if you are old, if you find something you really want to try, just give it a go.” Kim wanted to spread the message that reaching for your goals won’t be met without any roadblocks. She,  at only age 15, was the first woman of all woman of the sport to achieve these Back to Back 1080’s, and as a young girl, she paved the way and inspired many people, saying you can do anything, any age, any gender, any race. She suffered struggles and many foggy days in her journey of her sport career, and never once did she give up. Although faced with many hardships, from her age to discrimination, Kim has persevered through it all. She is considered a hero for the inspiration she has sparked in girls, and boys, of all ages, and her message gets across that she is not here for second place in the race for her goals. She is determined to achieve what she came here to achieve, and she won’t take no for an answer.

Works Cited

“Chloe Kim." Gale Biography in Context, Gale, 2017. Biography In Context,

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1650010665/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=6f8adfc8. Accessed 5 Dec. 2018.

“Chloe KIM.” International Olympic Committee, IOC, 12 Nov. 2018,

www.olympic.org/chloe-kim.

Chloe Kim." Newsmakers, vol. 2, Gale, 2018. Student Resources In Context,

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1618006852/SUIC?u=powa9245&sid=SUIC&xid=b672d367. Accessed 11 Dec. 2018.

Kettler, Sara. “Chloe Kim.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 28 Feb. 2018,

www.biography.com/people/chloe-kim.