South Korean snowboarder Lee Chaeun placed sixth in the men's halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Despite nailing a challenging frontside triple cork 1620 in his third run, he scored 87.50 points, falling short of the podium. Japan's Yuto Totsuka won gold with 95.00 points.
The men's halfpipe final took place at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, Italy, about 140 kilometers north of Milan. The 19-year-old Lee Chaeun, the 2023 world champion and 2024 Winter Youth Olympic gold medalist, was competing in his second Olympics following Beijing 2022.
Twelve finalists each performed three runs, with the best score counting toward the final tally. For each run, the highest and lowest of six judges' scores were discarded. In halfpipe, athletes execute spins, flips, and board grabs on a 22-foot U-shaped structure, judged on difficulty, height, and execution.
Lee scored just 24.75 points in his first run after falling on his third move, a frontside triple cork 1620 involving three backward flips and 4.5 rotations. His second run ended similarly with a wobbly landing on a frontside double cork 1440 with tail grab—two flips, four rotations, and a tail grab—preventing completion of the remaining moves, again for 24.75 points.
In the decisive third run, Lee completed all five moves, including the frontside triple cork 1620, but earned 87.50 points as four competitors had already surpassed 90. He placed fifth after the run but finished sixth overall. Gold went to Japan's Yuto Totsuka with 95.00, silver to Scotty James with 93.50, bronze to Japan's Ryusei Yamada with 92.00, and fourth to Ruka Hirano with 91.00.
Lee expressed disappointment, saying, "I expected 92.00 or 92.50 points with my third run," and was seen tearing up. He added, "But I just wasn't good enough. I am still proud of having landed this trick," noting he landed the world's first triple cork 1620 in 2024. On preparation, he said, "I thought I had prepared really hard for this Olympics but I guess it was good enough only for me. If my blood and tears aren't enough, I will shed blood, sweat and tears. I want to get to the top of the podium at the next Olympics."
With four athletes in the 90s, Lee remarked, "Everyone went crazy," and vowed, "I guess I will have to go even crazier to get to the podium the next time."
The event followed teammate Choi Gaon's gold in the women's halfpipe 24 hours earlier, where she scored 92.50 in her third run after a first-run fall, edging out Chloe Kim's bid for a third straight Olympic title.
