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[스포츠뉴스]Korea at risk of missing out on individual short track gold for first time as other nations speed past

온카뱅크관리자

2026-02-17 12:54:00

<div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/17/0000084530_001_20260217125414055.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Rim Jong-un, center, slips and falls during the men’s 1,500 meters semifinal in short track speed skating at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, held at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Italy on Feb. 14. [JOONGANG ILBO] </em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> With 26 Olympic gold medals to date, short track speed skating has traditionally been Korea’s strongest Winter Olympic event. The sport yielded six gold medals at Torino 2006 and both of Korea’s gold medals at Beijing 2022.  <br><br>But at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, the top prize has proved elusive. So far, Korea has collected one silver and two bronze medals across six short track events. Rim Jong-un won bronze in the men’s 1,000 meters, Hwang Dae-heon took silver in the men’s 1,500 meters and Kim Gil-li secured bronze in the women’s 1,000 meters.   <br><br>Korea now has only three events remaining: the women’s relay, the men’s relay and the women’s 1,500 meters.  <br>    <br> After Rim and Hwang were both eliminated in the men’s 500-meter individual race on Monday, Korea is guaranteed to finish this Olympics without a gold medal in any men’s individual event.   <br>    <br> The women’s team has also fallen short in its gold-medal bids in both the 1,000 meters and 500 meters. If Korea fails to win gold in the women's 1,500 meters, it would mark the first time since short track became an official Olympic sport at the 1992 Albertville Games that Korea finishes without a gold medal in either men’s or women’s individual events.  <br>    <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/17/0000084530_002_20260217125414316.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Kim Gil-li falls after being fouled by Belgium’s Hanne Desmet during the women’s 1,000 meters semifinal at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, held at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Italy on Feb. 16. [JOONGANG ILBO]</em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> Several factors are behind the struggles. Since the late 2010s, the competitive balance among major short track nations has evened out. Canada and Italy have risen sharply, and traditional speed skating powerhouse the Netherlands now dominates short track as well. Dutch skater Jens van ’t Wout claimed both the men’s 1,000 meters and 1,500 meters titles and Xandra Velzeboer swept the women’s 1,000 meters and 500 meters, producing two double gold medalists at the ongoing Games.  <br>    <br> Korean skaters have also struggled to adapt to the softer ice conditions at the venue, the Milano Ice Skating Arena. There have been frequent falls throughout the competition. The arena alternates between short track and figure skating, and athletes have complained that the ice feels soft, possibly due to issues in the resurfacing process.  <br>    <br> In the mixed 2,000-meter relay, Kim Gil-li collided with a slipping American skater. In the men’s 1,500 meters, Hwang Dae-heon, who had been biding his time at the back, surged forward when several leaders crashed with four laps remaining, finishing second.  <br>    <br> Korea’s traditional race strategy is also proving less effective.  <br>    <br> In the past, Korean skaters conserved energy in the early laps, moved to the front around laps 10 or 11, sometimes intentionally giving up the lead only to execute decisive overtakes with four or five laps remaining &#8212; a formula that consistently delivered results. At the 2006 Torino Olympics, Ahn Hyun-soo and Jin Sun-yu each won three gold medals using this approach.  <br>    <br> But the rhythm of modern races has changed. The overall pace has accelerated, and skaters from other countries now push forward aggressively much earlier in the race. Once a skater drops to fourth place or lower, it has become far more difficult to fight back. As some observers describe it, many other athletes skate the 1,500 meters as if it were a 1,300-meter race, while Korean skaters approach it more like a 1,700-meter event. Tactics that were once uniquely Korean are now widely studied and anticipated.  <br>    <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/17/0000084530_003_20260217125414438.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Choi Min-jeong, left, competes in the women’s 1,000 meters classification race at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, held at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Italy on Feb. 16. [JOONGANG ILBO] </em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> Korean skaters are often at a disadvantage physically as well, and support systems lag behind some rivals &#8212; Canada, for example, employs nine dedicated staff members.  <br>    <br> Iconic performances like Kim Dong-sung’s dominant early breakaway at the 2002 World Championships 1,500 meters, when he lapped competitors in a “furious sprint,” or Jin Sun-yu’s breathtaking outside-lane passes of four skaters at the 2006 Torino Olympics are now rare sights. Even Choi Min-jeong, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time silver medalist, has struggled against coordinated team tactics and close marking from rival nations at the Milan-Cortina Olympics.   <br>    <br> Hope still remains, however. Choi Min-jeong and Kim Gil-li will compete in the women’s 1,500 meters, one of their strongest events. The women’s 3,000-meter relay final is also a traditional powerhouse event for Korea, which has claimed six gold medals and one silver across eight Olympic appearances. The men’s relay team, which has reached the final, will aim for its first gold since 2006. <br><br>If Korea were to sweep all three remaining events, it could even surpass its gold medal tally from the Beijing Olympics.  <br>    <br> <i>This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.</i>  <br><br><i>This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.</i>

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