Korea's Lee Finishes Sixth in Olympic Halfpipe, Lands Historic Trick

South Korean snowboard star Lee Chae-un finished sixth in the men's halfpipe at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, ending his campaign with a bittersweet result.

Lee, a Kyung Hee University student, scored 87.50 points in the final held at Livigno Snowpark in Italy on Friday, placing sixth among 12 finalists. After qualifying ninth with 82 points two days earlier, Lee failed to complete his first two runs but successfully landed a triple cork 1620—a four-and-a-half rotation trick—in his third attempt.

In his first run, Lee fell while attempting a frontside triple cork 1620 on his third jump. He lowered the difficulty to a double cork 1440 in his second run but again failed to continue to the next jump. In his final run, he landed his signature triple cork 1620 and completed two double cork 1440s to finish the race. Despite scoring 87.50, he missed the podium as four competitors had already posted scores above 90 points in earlier runs.

Lee, who finished 18th at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, became the first Korean male athlete to reach an Olympic snowboard halfpipe final.

"In Beijing, the decision came almost a day before the opening, so I emptied my mind and wasn't nervous," Lee said after the competition. "This time, my skills were different, and I was challenging a world first, so I was more nervous. But I'm proud of myself just for landing the triple cork 1620 for the first time today. It's disappointing, but I feel relieved."

Born in April 2006, Lee set his sights on the next Olympics. "I really worked hard preparing for this Olympics, but it seems it was only enough for me," he said. "If tears of blood aren't enough, I'll shed blood, sweat, and tears—all of them. For the next Olympics, I'll train even harder as if my life depends on it. I'll work harder to stand on the highest place on the podium."

Japan's Totsuka Yuto claimed gold with 95.00 points. Scotty James of Australia took silver with 93.50 points, while Japan's Yamada Ryusei earned bronze with 92.00 points. Japan captured consecutive gold medals in this event following Hirano Ayumu's victory in 2022.