Korean snowboarder Lee Chae-un claimed the gold medal in the men’s slopestyle snowboarding final at the Asian Winter Games on Saturday. Lee earned a score of 90 points at the Snowboard Slopestyle Stadium in Yabuli, China, surpassing China’s Liu Haoyu (76 points) and his fellow countryman Kang Dong-hun, who secured bronze with 74 points.
The victory marks another significant achievement in the young athlete’s career. At just 18, Lee has already made waves in the international snowboarding scene. He made history in 2022 by competing in the Beijing Winter Olympics at just 15, the youngest male athlete of the Games. Lee also became the first Korean to win gold at the FIS Snowboarding World Championships in 2023, making him the youngest-ever champion at the event at 16 years and 10 months old.
In addition to his World Championship win, Lee earned two gold medals—one in halfpipe and another in slopestyle—at the Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon last year.
Kang Dong-hun, also 18, took home his first international medal with the bronze, marking his debut on the Asiad podium.
With these two medals, Team Korea has solidified its presence in snowboarding at the Asian Winter Games, adding to its history of eight snowboarding medals at previous competitions. Korea joins Japan and China as the only countries with medals in the sport at the Games.
As the Asian Winter Games continue until February 14, Team Korea has already earned accolades in sports such as short track speed skating, speed skating, and curling.
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