Chloe Kim Was in a “Low, Dark Place” Before Snowboarding Hiatus

Chloe Kim adds her voice to the chorus of athletes talking about mental health. in a Hour interview Before the Beijing Olympics, Kim spoke about how the sudden infatuation with fame after her half pipe gold medal at the 2018 Olympics led to feelings of depression and exhaustion, culminating in 2019 when she took a extended break from sport.

Kim became a global star after the Olympics and the fame was overwhelming, she says. Hour. She remembers going to a sandwich shop near her home in Southern California for lunch and feeling like everyone was starting to stare at her the moment she walked in. She drove home in a panic, feeling “angry” and frustrated at the new limitations in her life. “I just wanted a day where I was left alone. And it’s impossible.” She was grateful for the support she had received, but also wished that people “could understand what she was going through up to that point” – the stress and anxiety that led her to temporarily throw her gold medal in the trash. “He hated life,” Kim remembers.

When she returned to competing after the Olympics, Kim found that her passion for snowboarding was on the wane. Her teammates bullied her on social media and Kim broke her ankle at the 2019 US Open, prompting her to reflect on herself and make a decision. “I was so burned that I couldn’t take it anymore,” she says. “I felt a bit lost. I was in a pretty low and dark place.” He decided to take a break from snowboarding and try college at Princeton.

At first, college presented some of the same problems: Kim was recognized everywhere and avoided common areas, feeling uncomfortable with the attention. Eventually, the spotlight began to fade, and when exams rolled around, Kim realized she could relate to what her classmates were going through. “Everyone around me was falling apart when it came time to take a test,” explains Kim. “People would hide in the darkest part of the library until 3 in the morning, and then they would come out like zombies at 7 and do it all over again… It was like, ‘I need this. I need to see other amazing people. falls apart'”.

Kim says her time at Princeton also led her into therapy, where she began to process long-buried emotions, especially around the the racism you have experienced as an Asian-American in a predominantly white sport. “Just being able to let out those things that you just hide in your secret little part of your heart helps a lot,” says Kim. “I feel much more at peace now.”

With the 2022 Olympics just around the cornerKim is in a better place and says he has big plans for his Beijing competition. And when it comes to mental health, he’s learned a few lessons along the way. “I would tell my younger self that even if things get tough and people are mean to you or whatever, it will get better,” says Kim. “You are going to realize that you have so many good things in your life that the bad ones are not going to hurt you.”