Chloe Kim Celebrated Her First Olympic Gold Medal Like the Snack Hero She Is

U.S. snowboarding phenom Chloe Kim captured America’s heart after her gold medal win in the women’s snowboarding halfpipe event this week when she tweeted about being “hangry” in between runs and celebrated with her exuberant family.

After she received her first-ever Olympic gold medal, the 17-year-old breakout star of the 2018 Winter Olympics appeared on the Today Show late Tuesday evening in South Korea, where she discussed how she felt when she won and, of course, her love for churros.

“It really hasn’t sunken in yet. I don’t know where I am or what I’m doing here, but all I know is it’s good,” she told the Today Show’s Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb. “All good things. I’m just so happy to be here.”

“This whole process has been amazing and this journey has been so fun, and I’m full of so many memories that I will hold onto for the rest of my life,” she added. “I’m just so grateful at the end of the day.”

Kim, who scored a nearly perfect 98.25 in her third run of the event, is now the youngest woman to ever win the women’s halfpipe event. While she was a favorite to win gold, that doesn’t mean she didn’t have nerves in the days before the Olympic halfpipe final. On Sunday, Kim tweeted that she was nervous — but eating two churros calmed her down.

“Oh and I also had 2 churros today and they were pretty bomb so if you ever get nervous go eat a churro,” she tweeted.

As a result, the Today show tried to find churros to give Kim on the show, but had no luck. Instead, they had a chef prepare churros, ice cream and sandwiches just for her. “I’m so happy,” she said about the churros. “They bring me so much joy.”

Kim’s love for churros wasn’t the only relatable thing the athlete did ahead of — and during — her halfpipe performance. During the Monday qualifiers for her event, Kim tweeted: “Could be down for some ice cream rn.”

And, perhaps most notably, Kim tweeted in between her runs during the women’s halfpipe final about how she was frustrated she didn’t finish her breakfast sandwich earlier that day.

On and off the slopes, Kim has certainly left her mark. At the end of her Today show appearance, Kim beamed as they showed her a clip of Kotb predicting back in early January that she would become the stand-out star of the Olympics. “My prediction is we’re going to know the name Chloe Kim at the Olympics,” Kotb said in the clip. “She is awesome and fun and is one of those people we will know her after the Olympic Games are over. She’s a superstar.”