Even gold medalists get hangry: Chloe Kim wins over internet with relatable tweets

(NBC Sports, YouTube)


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PYEONGCHANG — Southern California snowboarder Chloe Kim blew the world away this week by dominating a near-perfect run during the women's halfpipe snowboarding final at the Winter Games.

But not only has the 17-year-old Olympian won gold, she's now won over the internet with her relatable tweets.

In case you're unaware, Twitter is often one of the best parts of the Olympics, as the world's best athletes share stories from the Olympic Village, marvel at their newfound fame and freak out over personal tweets from their favorite celebrities. But few have managed to be quite as delightful on social media as Kim.

After Kim started off the week by sharing that she's a fan of churros as an antidote for nerves and that she "could be down for some ice cream rn," NBC Olympics jumped in to poll fans about which flavor she should get.

But Kim was in the middle of competing, so she responded with her approval of the results and a request that someone do her a favor and bring the ice cream to her.

Later, Kim shared her regrets about something we can probably all relate to, even if we aren't all Olympic gold medalists.

Hanger.

According to Twitter, between the time Kim started her halfpipe run and the time she finished, her following on the social network had grown more than 600 percent.

(Tweeting mid-run made possible, of course, by the delay in airtimes.)

Kim now has a strong support system across the internet, but it turns out she's also had all the support she needs from her parents, who are quickly becoming beloved by the internet.

After Kim won, her dad shared his story with CNN. It turns out, Jong Jin Kim (Chloe's father) moved from South Korea to the United States in 1982 with just $800 to his name. He later quit his job to help Chloe pursue her snowboarding dreams.

The family's journey came full circle this week with Chloe competing and winning at the Winter Games in South Korea. Kim said his daughter Chloe represents the American dream to him.

"I'm the dad of an Olympic gold medalist, not many people have this kind of feeling," Kim told CNN.

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