It’s already impressive that a 17-year old snowboarder is competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics. But this Korean-American athlete doesn’t just impress with age. On Tuesday, Chloe Kim outperformed her competition, bringing home a gold metal and carving a legendary place for herself in this sport. 

Kim began snowboarding at the age of four, and by six, she was competing. She went on to be a four-time champion at the X Games, and the only thing holding her back from competing at the Sochi games was her age – she was only 13 at the time.

But these last four years have given her an opportunity to really hone her craft and master some tough moves, like the two 1080 degree spins she nailed on Tuesday.

But apart from her young prowess as an athlete, the 2018 Olympic Games hold a very personal meaning to Kim. Her father immigrated from South Korea to the US before Kim was even born.

And as Kim put it, “I feel like I have this unique opportunity to represent both Korea and the US.” And some of her family members are still living in Korea making this event pretty special for her.

Kim has also been a source of inspiration for South Korean children, who can now watch Kim compete in their own country.

And despite her ever-growing success, Kim is down-to-earth, saying that when she won gold, “I was trying so hard to hold the tears back, cause I was like, ‘I can’t cry right now…I worked so hard on my eyeliner.”