Chloe Kim says she’s ‘good to go’ for Olympics despite labrum tear in shoulder

By EDDIE PELLS, Associated Press

Snowboarder Chloe Kim says she’s “good to go” for the Milan Cortina Olympics despite tearing the labrum in her shoulder during a training run last week in Switzerland.

The two-time gold medalist in the halfpipe posted an update to Instagram on Tuesday, saying she wasn’t surprised to learn she had torn her labrum — the lining of the socket that holds the shoulder together. She did not say which shoulder she injured when she fell while getting ready for this weekend’s Laax Open.

“There are two ways to do it, and the way I did it is less severe than the other, so I’m really happy about that,” she said. “Obviously, I’m really disappointed that I can’t snowboard until right before the Olympics, which is going to be hard. I haven’t gotten nearly the amount of reps that I would have liked, but that’s OK.”

The women’s Olympic halfpipe contest starts Feb. 11.

The 25-year-old Kim, who already has qualified for the U.S. team and is the heavy favorite to win in Italy if she’s healthy, said she won’t compete this weekend. She didn’t mention the Winter X Games in Aspen later this month, which are the last big contest before the Olympics.

Kim has only been in one competition this season — last month in Copper Mountain — and while warming up for the final there, she suffered a shoulder injury, as well.

In her video, Kim said she’ll have to wear a “super-sexy shoulder brace” that is uncomfortable.

“I went through a bunch of different waves of emotions, but honestly, I’m really excited for this week,” she said.

The end of the video flashed to her picking up her boyfriend, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, at the train station.

“I’m so grateful to be able to do this even though the lows can get pretty damn low,” Kim wrote on the post that went along with her video. “Excited for a week of exploration!”