South Bay Olympian Is One Of Time's '100 Most Influential People'

REDONDO BEACH, CA – Chloe Kim, 17-year-old Olympian from Torrance, won the gold medal in the half-pipe snowboarding category at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Now, she's been named one of Time's "100 most influential people of 2018."

Born in Long Beach, Kim began snowboarding when she was 4-years-old and competed for Team Mountain High when she was six. She spent third and fourth grade studying in Geneva, Switzerland and trained in Valais, Switzerland, from ages eight to ten. She goes to La Palma Christian School and is expected to graduate this year; to top it off, she speaks three languages, including French and Korean.

David Chang, the founder of the Momofuku restaurant group, profiled Kim for Time's list. He writes:

In 2014, during the Sochi Olympics, I was watching women’s snowboarding with a friend who works in the sports world. “The best snowboarder isn’t even here,” he said, “because she’s too young.”

My friend was talking about Chloe Kim. I remember thinking, The best snowboarder in the world is 13 years old? And she’s also Korean American? Those are two things you don’t normally hear together.

And yet, at just 17-years-old, Kim crushed the competition and took home the gold. To read more about Kim and to see the full list of Time's "100 most influential people" list, visit Time.com.

Related: Torrance Teen Snowboarder Competes In Winter Olympics

Photo by Dean Blotto Gray