Despite dislocating her shoulder and sustaining a torn labrum while training for the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, professional snowboarder Chloe Kim came out of the Winter Olympics with a silver medal in the women's halfpipe event. Her podium finish earlier this year followed a gold medal at both the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018 and the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.
The 26-year-old Long Beach, Calif., native underwent surgery in August to repair her left labrum, and, in addition to rehabilitating her body, Kim is now using her platform to speak out about her mental and emotional well-being. After being diagnosed with ADHD about seven months ago, the professional athlete has teamed up with the " Ms. Represented " campaign from Supernus Pharmaceuticals for Qelbree to help other women understand the hidden signs of ADHD in women and young girls.
Chloe Kim | Picture Alliance/Getty Images
While boys are twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD as girls, newly diagnosed ADHD cases in women between the ages of 23 and 49 nearly doubled between 2020 and 2022. Additionally, symptoms tend to differ between genders , going beyond the stereotypical hyperactivity often seen in young boys. The fact that women like Kim are being diagnosed later in life is one of the many reasons why the professional athlete chose to speak out and help other women understand their ADHD.
While Kim says that she started taking her mental health more seriously following the Beijing Games in 2022, which she found to be an isolating experience, it wasn't until after the Milan Olympics four years later that she sought out answers to the questions she had surrounding her health.
"I didn't know much about what ADHD was," Kim admits. "I thought that all of the symptoms I was experiencing were just part of being overwhelmed and exhausted from my big, beautiful, busy life. I was like, These just all feel like champagne problems , you know, like maybe I'm just ungrateful, I'm lazy, like I just don't want to do this, but after Milan, I felt like I wanted to at least have a conversation with a health professional and see what their opinions were, and that's when I ultimately got diagnosed."
Before her ADHD diagnosis, Kim describes feeling "scattered all the time" in her day-to-day, whether she was trying to hold a conversation or keep track of her appointments. However, while she struggled with everyday tasks, Kim focused on her sport without issue.
"That's the other thing I didn't know about ADHD is that you can get hyperfocused and hyperfixated on one thing that you're really passionate about, and for me, that's snowboarding," Kim explains. "And so that's also why I wasn't sure what I was going through because I was like, I am so focused, I am so disciplined, I am so good at my sport, like I am diligent about getting all the things done needed for my sport, you know, I'm waking up early, training as much as I can. I'm watching film and trying to be better in my sport in every way, shape and form. But the minute I was off the mountain, I didn't have that [focus] anywhere else."
"I think the most difficult thing was just not feeling like my life outside of my sport was as full and whole as my life when I was snowboarding in season. And I think that as I get older and wiser, I'm starting to recognize that your mental health [and] your mind [are] so important in every aspect of life, but especially in sport."
Chloe Kim | Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images
As she continues to recover from her shoulder surgery, Kim is focused on three to four days of strength training per week, while she also incorporates reformer Pilates and running into her weekly fitness routine. Plus, she is gearing up to make her debut on Season 6 of Peacock's reality TV show, The Traitors , which is expected to premiere on the network in early 2027. In the meantime, Kim is using her platform to share her experience with ADHD in the hopes of helping others.
"Being more aware of my mental health and speaking about mental health has been so important to me because I've seen what big of a difference that can make," Kim says. "And I just really want to be here and spread awareness.
"As women, we are badasses. We are able to do so many incredible things, and I think that there's a lot of responsibility that comes with being a woman, as well. As a woman in a very male-dominated sport, it was very intimidating for me stepping into the scene. I want to use my platform for good. I want to use my platform to speak about my experiences, hoping that maybe somebody out there can relate, and if I can encourage one person to seek help, then this was all worth it to me."
This article was originally published on www.swimsuit.si.com as Following Her Adulthood ADHD Diagnosis, Olympic Athlete Chloe Kim Is Advocating for Fellow Women .
