Chloe Kim is now a household name. The snowboarder had been preparing to make history for years now, what with her medals in the Winter X Games, and her finesse being noted as similar to that of Shaun White. At this year’s Winter Olympics, Kim became an official Olympian when she won gold for her halfpipe performance. Another detail? She’s only 17 years old.
Chloe Kim Net Worth 2018: $400,000
Her gold medal was a long time coming and this is only just the beginning for her. Let’s see how Kim got her worth and what’s next for the Olympian.
Early Life
Kim grew up in California and while their climate may be a better fit for summer sports, Kim began snowboard training at a young age. She trained at a SoCal resort before taking it internationally to winter sports capital Switzerland for several years.
2014 – 2016
At age 13, Kim qualified for the Sochi Olympics, but she was too young to compete. The minimum age varies from sport to sport with snowboarding’s age capped before 15. Despite the setback, she competed at the annual Winter X Games and earned second place in superpipe. The following year, she won gold in the same event and broke the record for the youngest competitor to win gold at age 14.
Aside from the X Games, Kim also competed at the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix, becoming the first female to successfully land consecutive 1080 spins.
2016 – Present
In 2016, Kim continued her streak of breaking records. At the Youth Olympic Games, she became the first American female to win first place in snowboarding. She began garnering more and more attention and recently landed a cover on Sports Illustrated Kids.
It’s safe to say that competing in the Olympic Games was long overdue for Kim. During the halfpipe finals, she was already in the lead after her first run. She could’ve played it safe with her last two runs, but that just wasn’t her style.
On Kim’s last run, the gold medal already secured, she did back-to-back 1080s on her final run to earn a 98.25, and a spot on the top of the podium. She spoke to NBC about her decision to go hard even though she was already guaranteed to win, “That third run was really just to prove to myself that I deserved it and did everything I could. I’m so happy.”
What else does Kim get from earning first besides eternal glory? According to Money Under 30, U.S. gold medalists earn bonuses of about $37k.
What made her gold medal especially significant? Kim’s parents are South Korean immigrants so she was able to pay homage to her multicultural roots by winning gold for the U.S. while on her family’s home turf. Besides being relentlessly backed by her fam, according to CNBC, Kim lists Nike, Toyota and Mondelez as just a few of her sponsors.
Though she has multiple medals and records under her belt, Kim’s still just a relatable teen who tweets about being hangry and being her own valentine.
