When it comes to Chloe Kim — the gold-medal-winning 17-year-old snowboarder with a passion for ice cream — it seems she’s capable of doing anything without much help. (Have you seen her effortless-looking 1080s?)
But it turns out she has a strong support system with her in PyeongChang: her dad. And while he’s already known for bringing sweet handmade signs to her events, there’s another new tidbit about his cheerleading for his daughter that has captured more hearts.
In a segment with NBC’s Olympics team, Chloe revealed that her dad has some very powerful texting moves. While he may not be a tech pro — he certainly doesn’t use emojis, or even know what they are — he does have just the right messages for his daughter when it’s important.
“He’s like, ‘Good luck. You can do it,'” Chloe elaborated about the subtle inspiration he provides. And then there was this text: “Let’s be a dragon today.” Chloe’s response to that kind of aspirational messaging? “I was like, OK. No pressure or anything, but I’ll try my best. Just emerge from the earth. If I’m a dragon I’m down.”
Looks like these minimalist communications are doing the trick, as Kim won handily in her event on Monday.
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Write to Raisa Bruner at raisa.bruner@time.com