Olympic champion Kim to take break for mental health

Beijing 2022 Olympics – Victory Ceremony – Women’s Snowboard Halfpipe – Zhangjiakou Medals Plaza, Zhangjiakou, China – February 10, 2022. Gold medalist Chloe Kim of the United States celebrates on the podium. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

April 26 (Reuters) – Two-time Olympic snowboarding champion Chloe Kim said she will sit out the 2022-23 season to focus on her mental health after a “grueling” year.

The American became the youngest woman to claim an Olympic gold medal in snowboarding when she won the halfpipe at the 2018 Winter Games as a 17-year-old and defended her title in Beijing earlier this year.

“Just for my mental health,” Kim told US online news service Cheddar News when asked about the reason for his decision.

“(I) just want to restart. I don’t want to do it again after such a fun year, but exhausting, at the same time, knowing that it was an Olympic year.

“I just want to enjoy this moment, take it all in and then come back when I feel ready, but from now on the plan is definitely to go after a third medal.”

The 22-year-old also took a season off after the 2018 Games to focus on her studies and mental health.

The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will take place in February 2026.

Reporting from Manasi Pathak in Bangalore; Edited by Peter Rutherford

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.