Eighteen-year-old South Korean snowboarder Yu Seung-eun expressed satisfaction with her childhood switch from table tennis to snowboarding after winning bronze in the women's big air at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Despite multiple injuries in 2025, she overcame challenges to secure the medal and placed 12th in slopestyle. Yu aims to excel in both events moving forward.
Yu Seung-eun, an 18-year-old South Korean snowboarder, secured a bronze medal in the women's big air event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on February 9. She transitioned from table tennis to snowboarding in elementary school after her mother enrolled her in a camp. "Now that I am here, I am glad I made that switch to snowboarding," Yu said during a press conference in Milan.
Throughout 2025, Yu focused on rehabilitation from multiple injuries starting in late 2024, including a broken ankle, dislocated elbow, and fractured wrist. "But throughout 2025, it was just a series of thoughts, like, 'I shouldn't have picked up snowboarding,'" she recalled. Despite the difficulties, Yu noted, "Although I was in a dark place at the moment, I believed there would be light at the end of the tunnel," and thanked those who supported her.
After her big air success, she finished 12th in the slopestyle final. Yu explained, "With long injury rehabs, I only had time to train for the big air before the Olympics," and added limited slopestyle practice in Italy a month prior. She aims to become proficient in both disciplines. Big air involves launching off a ramp for flips and spins, while slopestyle features tricks on rails and jumps.
Yu drew inspiration from teammate Choi Gaon's gold in women's halfpipe. "I respect her so much as an athlete," she said. "I am a hard-working athlete, and that's how I want to be remembered." Having arrived in Italy on January 30, Yu was set to return home on February 20. "I was the first Korean snowboarder to get here, and I will be the last one to leave," she added with a smile, eager to go back.
