Even With a Broken Wrist, She Soared Again... 18-Year-Old High School Snowboarder Yoo Seungeun Wins Korea's First Women’s Snow Event Bronze (Comprehensive)

Scores 171 in Olympic big air final
Third behind Murase and Sadowski-Synnott, rewriting Korea's snow history
Flawless execution of backside triple cork 1440

First appearance, first final, and even a first medal.

It is the uprising of an 18-year-old high school snowboarder. Yoo Seungeun of Seongbok High School, dubbed the "rising star of Korean snowboarding," made new history for Korea in the snow events. On the 9th (local time) at Livigno Snowpark in Italy, she scored 171 points in the women's snowboard big air final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. She finished third behind Murase Kokomo of Japan with 179 points and Sadowski-Synnott Zoi of New Zealand with 172.25 points.

Yoo Seungeun became the first Korean female athlete ever to win a medal in a snow event at the Olympics. Until this competition, Korean skiing and snowboarding had only one Olympic medal: the silver won by Lee Sangho of Nexen Winguard in the men's parallel giant slalom at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. For the first time, Korea has now secured two medals in snow events at a single Olympics. Following the silver medal that Kim Sangkyum of High1 won in the men's snowboard parallel giant slalom the previous day, this is Team Korea's second medal at these Games.

On the 9th (local time) at Livigno Snowpark in Italy, Yoo Seungeun, who won the bronze medal in the women's snowboard big air at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, is biting her medal at the medal ceremony. Yonhap News

Yoo Seungeun became the first Korean woman ever to compete in Olympic big air, reaching the final on her debut and hanging her first medal around her neck. At the Pyeongchang Games, Jung Jihye was selected to represent Korea in big air but could not compete due to injury, and at the 2022 Beijing Games there were no Korean athletes in the event.

Big air, a freestyle snowboarding discipline, is contested on a 50-meter slope, roughly the height of a 15-story apartment building. Riders accelerate down the in-run and launch off a massive jump, with judges scoring them on jump height, rotation, landing, and distance to determine the winner. It became an official Olympic event for the first time at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. All riders attempt tricks in three runs, and after discarding the lowest score, the remaining two run scores are combined to determine the rankings. However, if two tricks are spun in the same direction, only one of those scores is counted.

Yoo Seungeun is cheering after delivering a perfect run in the second run of the women's snowboard big air final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Livigno, Italy = Yonhap News Agency

In the first run of the final, Yoo Seungeun perfectly landed a backside triple cork 1440, a trick involving four backward rotations while grabbing the front edge of the board and spinning 1440 degrees in the air with her back facing downhill at takeoff. Her jump height reached 5.5 meters, and her jump distance stretched to 29.2 meters. She stayed airborne for as long as 2.3 seconds. Her first-run score was 87.75 points, putting her in second place.

In the second run, she executed a frontside triple cork 1440, a trick in which the rider takes off facing forward while grabbing the back edge of the board and spins 1440 degrees in the air, and earned 83.25 points. Leading the field after the second run, she appeared to be in contention for the gold medal. Sensing a medal, Yoo Seungeun celebrated by tossing her board aside in joy.

Yoo Seungeun is taking a selfie on the podium with Murase Kokomo, who placed first, and Sadowski-Synnott Zoi, who placed second, after finishing third in the women's snowboard big air at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics. Livigno, Italy = Yonhap News

However, fortunes diverged in the third run. After Murase and Sadowski-Synnott posted high scores in their third runs, pushing her down to third place, she went all in once more with a high-difficulty trick. She attempted the same frontside triple cork 1440 as in her second run but failed the landing and could not secure a high score. She received 20.75 points, but it was still enough to keep her on the podium. In a post-race interview, Yoo Seungeun exclaimed, "Just wearing the national team jersey and riding a snowboard is an honor in itself, and now I've even won an Olympic medal. I still can't believe it."

Yoo Seungeun was born in January 2008 and has been competing since middle school. She emerged as a promising talent by finishing runner-up in the women's big air at the 2023 International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) Junior Snowboard World Championships. Two years ago, she crashed in a World Cup final and injured her right ankle bone, spending a year in rehabilitation. Just two days after returning, she also suffered a broken wrist.

Yu Seungeun is executing a flawless, high-difficulty trick in the women's snowboard big air final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Livigno (Italy) = Yonhap News Agency

In December last year, she finished second at a World Cup event held in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, in the United States. Despite wearing a cast, she delivered a flawless performance. She became the first Korean athlete ever to reach the podium in a snowboard World Cup big air event. In the lead-up to these Olympics, she focused on mastering four-rotation tricks. True to her bold, new-generation style, she enjoyed the competition and, in her Olympic debut, climbed onto the podium.