US Olympic star Chloe Kim reveals she is bombarded with anti-Asian racist messages

‘Sometimes I feel like everyone hates me because I am Asian,’ the 20-year-old says, adding that she receives hundreds of racist messages monthly

The California-born snowboarding champion said she had noticed an uptick in abuse since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic

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US Olympic snowboarding champion Chloe Kim. Photo: Getty Images/AFP

Published: 9:38am, 3 Apr 2021Updated: 3:59pm, 22 Apr 2021

American Olympic snowboarding champion Chloe Kim has revealed she receives racist abuse on social media on a daily basis amid a surge of anti-Asian violence in the United States.

The 20-year-old 2018 Olympic half-pipe gold medallist, whose parents are from South Korea, told ESPN in an interview she fears for her safety after detailing how she is bombarded with racist abuse.

On Wednesday, Kim posted a screenshot of a racist message she had received on Instagram earlier that day.

“I get hundreds of these messages and it breaks my heart that people think this type of behaviour is OK,” Kim explained in an accompanying post. “I feel really helpless and afraid at times. I’m really struggling.”

Speaking with ESPN on Thursday, the California-born star said she receives several hundred abusive messages a month.

“Just because I am a professional athlete or won the Olympics doesn’t exempt me from racism,” she said. “I get hundreds of those kinds of messages monthly. I see maybe 30 a day.”