'Hangry' Chloe Kim loves churros, ice cream, and Cheetos
Chloe Kim nabbing Olympics gold for the U.S. in snowboarding halfpipe on Monday had viewers stoked for various reasons — her stellar skills (especially the signature back-to-back 1080s of her last run), her infectious excitement, and the deep meaning of competing in the home country of her extended family, many of whom had never seen her snowboard in competition.
And then there was the amazing fact of Kim, 17, being a teenager who is still in high school and the context of her flawless performance following a tweet, from earlier that morning, that’s a reminder of her casual youth:
Wish I finished my breakfast sandwich but my stubborn self decided not to and now I’m getting hangry
— Chloe Kim (@chloekimsnow) February 13, 2018
The “hangry” quote, liked more than 79,000 times on Twitter, has been endearingly repeated around the world by now. But it’s even more refreshing when you consider that this and many of Kim’s other tweets from throughout the past year concern food — and not in the way we’ve come to expect from teenage girls. Kim is neither obsessive nor punishing about her eating habits; she’s celebratory.
Take this, for example, from Sunday:
Could be down for some ice cream rn
— Chloe Kim (@chloekimsnow) February 12, 2018
Or this, from Saturday:
Oh and I also had 2 churros today and they were pretty bomb so if you ever get nervous go eat a churro
— Chloe Kim (@chloekimsnow) February 11, 2018
Kim schooled folks on her “training diet” with this visual in December:
“So what’s your training diet like” @TeamToyota pic.twitter.com/LQhErhouqs
— Chloe Kim (@chloekimsnow) December 21, 2017
And, a couple days before that, this humble brag about heading to the Kylie Jenner and Adam Rippon fave In-N-Out:
We are going to In N Out @TeamToyota pic.twitter.com/wCeEBvgATo
— Chloe Kim (@chloekimsnow) December 19, 2017
Going back to last spring, before she shifted into topics including the dreaded SATs and musing about how to dye her hair, she shared some Chipotle excitement:
just downloaded the chipotle app and i’m very happy about it
— Chloe Kim (@chloekimsnow) March 13, 2017
The trend goes far back with Kim too, including this particularly amazing news flash about what is apparently a favorite snack:
So New Zealand doesn’t have hot cheetos, so i got @Shay_Will to ship me some pic.twitter.com/eCP4YIXWoS
— Chloe Kim (@chloekimsnow) October 17, 2016
Her fans had plenty of fun replies to her junk-food obsession this week, including “OMG you’re so relaxed that you’re stressing me out.” “You’re literally about to win a gold medal and this is what you’re thinking?” and “We’re still on pins and needles about the ice cream situation … did someone get a scoop for you?” (Which prompted Oreo Cookie to chime in with a little self-promotion, natch, tweeting “Heard you were hangry. That gold-medal run deserves this OREO ice cream treat.)
One fan astutely pointed this out:
Well if hangry gets you the gold, it’s not a bad thing
— Judith (@Judith_Johnson) February 13, 2018
So while churros, Cheetos, and ice cream may not be the healthiest form of eating for an athlete (or anyone), Kim’s healthy attitude about it all — especially when you consider that 20 million women in America will have an eating disorder at some point in their lives (and that the rate is highest among adolescent girls) — feels like reason for celebration. Along with that medal, of course.
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
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