Winter Olympic Games: Shaun White tips Chloe Kim to win historic halfpipe 'three-peat' at Milano Cortina after ominous qualifying run

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Snowboarding legend Shaun White has tipped Chloe Kim to win a historic "three-peat" at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. Kim won snowboard halfpipe gold in both the 2018 Games in Pyeonchang and again four years later in Beijing. Now she vies to achieve something that White himself missed out on - three consecutive golds - and her qualifying run certainly suggests she is ready to do it.

Kim floors halfpipe competition with ‘mind-blowing’ first qualifying run

Video credit: TNT Sports

Snowboarding legend Shaun White has backed Chloe Kim to complete a historic "three-peat" at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.

The 25-year-old rose to prominence when taking X Games SuperPipe gold at the age of 15, before winning again in 2016 and 2018, with a bronze in 2017.

Then she became a global sporting superstar at the 2018 Pyeonchang Games, winning gold in halfpipe, something she went on to defend four years later in Beijing.

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Now Kim, still only 25, is looking to make history as the first halfpipe snowboarder - male or female - to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals.

White himself missed out on achieving the "three-peat" in Sochi in 2014, failing to reach the podium after winning gold in the 2006 and 2010 Games, but he did come back to become the only rider to win three golds when standing on top of the podium in 2018.

He is now predicting that Kim will do what he could not, after she qualified in first for the halfpipe final, alongside fellow American riders Maddie Mastro (third) and Bea Kim (10th).

‘Oh! Beautiful’ - Watch Kim nail first run to seal back-to-back halfpipe golds

Video credit: TNT Sports

"I am definitely excited to cheer on Team USA. I think we have got a strong team this year," White said. "Obviously Chloe Kim, the amazing run she just took, and I think she has got the three-peat, so let’s see."

Kim almost had to pull out of the Games after suffering a dislocated shoulder in training just a month out from the opening ceremony in Milan.

Fortunately, the result of that dislocation was not serious enough to prevent her from going for history at Milano Cortina, and Kim, with her score of 90.25 - almost three points ahead of her nearest competitor in qualifying, Japan's Sara Shimizu - is primed for glory.

White, as the former icon of the US skateboarding team, has taken on the responsibility of messaging Kim, as well as Eileen Gu and Japanese great Hirano Ayumu, who suffered a broken pelvis in a crash on January 17.

"I texted with [Hirano] Ayumu when he crashed and I’ve been texting Chloe Kim," he added. "I sent messages to Eileen Gu just saying, 'Hey, stay strong, stay focused', just encouragement, things like that."

White himself has transitioned from performer to pundit after deciding to pack in snowboarding at the age of 35 following his fifth Games in Beijing four years ago.

Shaun White won three halfpipe gold medals in 2006, 2010 and 2018.

Image credit: Getty Images

This being the first time since 2002 he has not been at the Winter Olympics as a competitor, White has mixed emotions about no longer riding.

He said: "It’s wild, I have had a little practice going into the snow league events and kind of hosting and being a part of it on that side, but this is totally different.

"Obviously [my] first Olympics of not competing, mixed emotions. I’d love to be out there riding, but I’m pretty thrilled with my decision.

"Being on this side of it has been all the fun of the Olympics, without dealing with that pressure to perform, and I am kind of just taking it all in, so we will see.

"Being here and not competing obviously feels strange. But, I am really enjoying it. This morning I was thrilled, and I am happy for the other athletes, I am happy with my new role."

Watch every event of Milano Cortina 2026 live on discovery+. Available across all subscription plans, starting at £3.99.

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