Winter Olympics: Chloe Kim set to compete with one healthy shoulder

MILAN — Chloe Kim is ready to defend her Olympic title, even with a healthy shoulder.

When the halfpipe superstar tore the labrum in his left shoulder in training a month ago, his hopes of becoming the first person to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals in snowboarding were damaged. But she told a news conference in Livigno, Italy, on Monday that she returned to her board about two weeks ago and that her shoulder “feels good.”

In fact, the injury may have made it even better.

“I feel like I don’t move as much,” Kim said. “I feel like I’m a lot more stable because I literally can’t move this arm as much as I normally would.”

American Chloe Kim speaks Monday during a press conference at the Winter Olympics in Livigno, Italy.

(Lindsey Wasson/Associated Press)

The idea that Kim, 25, could be better than her Olympic dominance paints a frightening picture for the halfpipe competition, where she hopes to debut a race she has never done before despite competing with a restrictive double.

“I feel confident,” Kim said. “I feel really good about the way I feel physically and mentally, and I think that’s the most important thing right now. … I have all the pieces finished and composed, so I just need to put everything together.”

Her teammate Maddy Schaffrick suffers from the same shoulder injury, although on the right side. She dislocated her shoulder at Copper Mountain, Colorado, in December. She didn’t need surgery and didn’t suffer full tears, but said dealing with her injury was difficult at first from a mental standpoint.

“It was all about riding with confidence and faking it until I made it,” Schaffrick said. “My focus, when it was in my shoulder and that instability or that pain that I felt, or the awareness of my corset limiting me, that really held me back. When I let myself drop into the rest of my body and me on my board, and felt that confidence, it didn’t hold me back.”

Schaffrick, 31, is making his Olympic debut after nearly a decade away from the sport. She burned out on snowboarding after turning professional at age 14. She worked as a plumber, then as a snowboard coach, eventually becoming an assistant on the U.S. national team. Being around elite athletes, including Kim and fellow U.S. Olympic team veteran Maddie Mastro, inspired Schaffrick to return to competition, and her former protégés are happy to be teammates again.

“Maddy is the vibe of our team,” Kim said. “She always has the biggest smile on her face, such good energy, so positive. And I think that’s so special to have. So I’m really grateful that she’s here with us, because she always brightens my day.”