Industry News
In a career already defined by dominance, Chloe Kim added another milestone on Monday night, April 20, winning her third Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid. Hosted by tennis star Novak Djokovic and freestyle skier Eileen Gu, the ceremony celebrated sporting excellence across disciplines, with stars like Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka, and Rory McIlroy also honored. The night also paid tribute to gymnastics legend Nadia Comăneci, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award on the 50th anniversary of her historic perfect 10 at the 1976 Olympics. Voted on by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the award is one of the highest honors in global sport — peer recognition from athletes who understand the demands of sustained excellence.
It was a fitting recognition of Chloe Kim, who is the most dominant female halfpipe snowboarder ever. At just 25, she has spent more than a decade at the top of her sport, redefining what progression in women’s snowboarding looks like. With two Olympic golds and one silver, three World Championship titles, and eight X Games medals, Kim is in a league of her own in halfpipe snowboarding. But Kim’s career is not only defined by medals.
Her career has not been a straight line upward. After bursting onto the snowboarding scene as a teenage prodigy at age 13 when she claimed silver at the X Games in Aspen, Colorado, and winning gold at the 2018 Olympics at age 17, Kim took a year off from competing to focus on school. She returned to competition the following year and went on to win a second gold medal at the 2022 Olympics. After the Beijing Games, she stepped away from competition again to prioritize her mental health — a decision that, at the time, ran counter to the relentless momentum expected of elite athletes.
Kim has demonstrated time and again that dominance does not mean perfection. What has set her apart is not the absence of failure, but her response to it. Kim has consistently balanced excellence with self-awareness, choosing longevity over burnout and authenticity over expectation. In doing so, she has become a different kind of role model in action sports — one who proves that stepping back can be just as powerful as pushing forward.
“I can’t believe I’m taking home my third Laureus Action Sportsperson of the Year Award,” Kim said. “Thank you to my friends, my family, and everyone who supported me along this crazy journey. What a way to end the season.” Kim was also named one of TIME 100 Most Influential People this year — an honor she was also given in 2018 after her first Olympic medal.
