Milan: After claiming an unexpected silver medal at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday, South Korean alpine snowboarder Kim Sang-kyum thanked his wife for her unwavering support. "I'm really happy. It's because of my family and my team that I got to the podium today," Kim said after his stunning performance in the men's parallel giant slalom at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, some 140 kilometers north of Milan. "My wife is the first person that comes to my mind," Kim continued, choking back tears. "I want to express my deepest gratitude to her for her patience and support. That's how I was able to persevere and compete through the end. I want to give this medal to her and also to my parents."

According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim, 37, wasn't considered a medal contender in the parallel giant slalom, where his teammate, the 2018 silver medalist Lee Sang-ho, carried hopes of capturing South Korea's first medal in Italy. However, while Lee was eliminated in the first race of the knockout phase, Kim advanced all the way to the final -- and did so after winning his first two knockout matches when his opponents fell and failed to finish their runs.

Kim was only the eighth-best qualifier out of 16 but nearly snatched the gold medal in the end. In the qualification, the boarders each had two runs, one on the blue course and another on the red course, and the top 17 based on their combined times progressed to the knockout stage. Kim was only 18th after his first run with a time of 43.74 seconds but bounced back with 43.44 seconds in his second run to reach the round of 16.

Kim acknowledged he was lucky to reach the podium, with Zan Kosir of Slovenia and then Roland Fischnaller of Italy falling in the round of 16 and then in the quarterfinals against him, respectively. Kim said he felt the most pressure in the race against Fischnaller, No. 1 in the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) World Cup standings. "I tried to keep trusting myself," he said. "From the semifinals, I wanted to minimize mistakes and add some speed."

Kim said he felt extra motivated after watching Lee fall in the round of 16. "We've been pushing each other for years, and that has helped create some good synergy that helped me get to where I am today," Kim said. "I want to thank him for all his accomplishments. He has put South Korean snowboard on the map."