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01/08 16:01 CST 2-time Olympic champion Chloe Kim injures shoulder, 'trying to stay optimistic' for Italy 2-time Olympic champion Chloe Kim injures shoulder, 'trying to stay optimistic' for Italy LAAX, Switzerland (AP) --- Two-time Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim said Thursday that she dislocated her shoulder in training and doesn't know whether she will be able to compete at the Winter Games in Italy next month. Kim posted footage of her fall from earlier this week on the halfpipe in Laax, where the world's top snowboarders compete later this month in a key pre-Olympic tune-up. She landed a jump cleanly but lost an edge and went skittering across the pipe, face down. Kim, who did not say which shoulder she hurt, said she is "trying to stay optimistic" about competing at the Olympics but "I don't have much clarity now." The 25-year-old said she has an MRI scheduled for Friday that will reveal the extent of the damage. "The positive thing is, I have range, I'm not in that much pain, I just don't want it to keep popping out, which has happened," she said. "I'm just trying to stay really optimistic. I feel really good about where my snowboarding is at right now, so I know the minute I get cleared and I'm good to go, I should be fine." Kim's absence would deprive the Winter Games of one of its biggest stars and one of its best storylines. She is trying to become the first action-sports athelte to win three straight gold medals. Shaun White took three golds, but they were spread out over five games. Kim was the breakout star of the 2018 Olympics, a bubbly teenager taking gold in her parents' home country of South Korea. Four years ago in China, she won again, with that victory puncutated by her messages about the ups and downs of success and fame. If healthy, she would be the heavy favorite to win again, but this injury off "the silliest fall," as she called it, puts all that in question. Qualifying for the women's halfpipe begins Feb. 11. The Laax Open is scheduled for next weekend, and even if Kim were to get a clean bill of health, there is a chance she would head into the Olympics without having competed in the final of a contest this season. Kim qualified for the U.S. team last year and has kept a light schedule. She fell during warmups for the final in Copper Mountain, Colorado, last month and pulled out after hurting her shoulder then, as well. That injury was not believed serious. ___ AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

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