Alpine snowboarder Kim Sang-kyum captured a shocking silver medal in the men's parallel giant slalom for South Korea's first medal at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday.

After winning his first two knockout races when his opponents failed to cross the finish line, Kim defeated Tervel Zamfirov of Bulgaria by 0.23 second in the semifinals before losing to Benjamin Karl of Austria by 0.19 second in the final at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, some 230 kilometers north of Milan.

Kim, 37, became just the second South Korean to win an Olympic snowboarding medal, joining the 2018 parallel giant slalom silver medalist Lee Sang-ho.

Lee lost to Andreas Prommegger of Austria by 0.17 second in the round of 16 on Sunday.

Kim Sang-kyum of South Korea bites the silver medal he won in the men's parallel giant slalom snowboard event at the Winter Olympics at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, Italy, on Sunday. (Yonhap)
Kim Sang-kyum of South Korea bites the silver medal he won in the men's parallel giant slalom snowboard event at the Winter Olympics at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, Italy, on Sunday. (Yonhap)
South Korean snowboarder Kim Sang-kyum reacts after winning the silver medal in the men's parallel giant slalom event at the Winter Olympics at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, Italy, on Sunday. (Yonhap)
South Korean snowboarder Kim Sang-kyum reacts after winning the silver medal in the men's parallel giant slalom event at the Winter Olympics at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, Italy, on Sunday. (Yonhap)

Kim's medal was South Korea's 400th medal in its Olympic history, winter and summer combined, and its 80th Winter Games medal.

The parallel giant slalom competition began earlier Sunday with the qualification stage, where the top 16 athletes based on combined times from two runs -- one each on the blue and the red courses -- advanced to the knockout round.

Each knockout race featured two boarders riding side-by-side down the slope, with the winner moving on to the next round.

Kim was the eighth-best qualifier and won his first knockout race in the round of 16 when Zan Kosir of Slovenia fell and did not finish his run.

In the quarterfinals, Kim ran into Roland Fischnaller of Italy, who came in ranked No. 1 in the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (World Cup standings this season. And Kim was gifted another unlikely victory as Fischnaller lost his balance and failed to complete his race.

Kim Sang-kyum of South Korea celebrates on the podium after winning the silver medal in the men's parallel giant slalom snowboard event at the Winter Olympics at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, Italy, on Sunday. (Yonhap)
Kim Sang-kyum of South Korea celebrates on the podium after winning the silver medal in the men's parallel giant slalom snowboard event at the Winter Olympics at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, Italy, on Sunday. (Yonhap)

Kim then held off Zamfirov to book a ticket to the final, where he fell short against Karl, who claimed his second straight gold medal and his fourth medal overall.

Kim competed on the blue course for the entirety of the knockout round. In the qualification stage, Kim had only the 18th-fastest time on the blue course with 43.74 seconds.

Lee, going for his second career Olympic medal, finished sixth in the qualification, but he lost to Andreas Prommegger of Austria by 0.17 second in the round of 16.

Kim will go down as one of the unlikeliest Olympic medalists for South Korea in any sport. This was his fourth Olympic Games but he had never finished higher than 15th and had only reached the knockout phase once.

Kim also has no FIS World Cup victory, with only a runner-up finish and a third-place finish under his belt. He has competed at nine world championships without once reaching the podium.

He arrived in Italy at No. 20 in the FIS World Cup standings this season. (Yonhap)