Choi Ga-on, a 17-year-old snowboarder from Sehwa High School, is gearing up for the finals set to take place on February 13 at 3:30 AM Korean time. She qualified for the finals after finishing sixth in the preliminary rounds, where her performance captured the attention of the audience. Choi idolizes Chloe Kim, a renowned snowboarder aiming for her third Olympic gold, heightening expectations that she will showcase her own exceptional skills, potentially leading to a gold medal finish in the finals.

During the preliminary rounds, Choi demonstrated a solid performance, starting with a switch backside seven, which is a challenging maneuver worth 82.25 points, placing her comfortably in sixth place. Although she attempted to increase the difficulty in her second run, a landing mistake led to a No Score due to the Did Not Improve (DNI) ruling. Analysts noted that her preliminary performance was steady and stable compared to her previous international competitions, suggesting that she balanced risk with strategy, especially as her specialty is the switch backside back nine, a complex move rarely executed among female snowboarders.

Choi's tactical choice to conserve energy during the preliminaries was strategic, considering the finals format allows three runs, thus providing her another chance to display her high-level skills without risking injury, as evidenced by her competitor, Lee Na-yoon, who unfortunately was unable to continue after an injury. Choi's potential echo of Chloe Kim's 2022 Beijing final performance, where Kim unveiled her secret techniques, reflects a broader series of competitive strategies that young athletes are adopting to maximize their performance at such prestigious events.