Chloe Kim Named One of Time's Most Influential People

Kim is joined on the list by Luke Combs, Keke Palmer, Noah Wyle, Dakota Johnson, Jonathan Goff, Noah Kahan, and Anderson.Paak.

She was honored with a write-up by 22-year-old American gymnast Sunisa Lee, who has four Olympic medals herself.

"Chloe shows up exactly as herself, and that authenticity resonates far beyond snowboarding," she wrote. "Seeing Chloe lead with that confidence means so much to me as an Asian American athlete. "She’s showing young girls everywhere that they belong in spaces where they may not always see themselves, and that they can succeed without changing who they are."

Kim has been in the public eye since her big Olympic debut back in 2018, when she won gold and became the youngest woman to do so at age 17. She won again in 2022, which made her the first rider to win consecutive Olympic halfpipe golds.

"What I love about Chloe is that she doesn’t pretend it’s easy. She embraces the grind of Olympic snowboarding and still brings so much style, confidence, and personality to everything she does," Lee wrote. "This past year, she’s continued to show what it means to compete on your own terms. Chloe has been open about the pressures of elite sports and unapologetic about protecting her mental health. That kind of honesty is powerful, especially for young athletes who are watching and learning what success can actually look like."

As she headed into her last run of the day during Olympic qualifiers, she already sat in the lead. Kim threw a massive backside 720 on her first hit and went huge with a switch method on her second hit. A cab 1080 and frontside 900 followed, and while she didn’t improve upon her first run, she made one thing clear: Chloe Kim was not taking her foot off of the gas.

Her two teammates, Maddie Mastro and Bea Kim, also made the halfpipe final.