[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korea to take crack at two short track titles

South Korea could grab multiple gold medals in one day for the first time at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Saturday.Two short track speed skating finals -- in the men's 1,000 meters and the women's 1,500 meters -- are scheduled for Saturday at Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung. (Yonhap)Lim Hyo-jun, the men's 1,500m champion from last Saturday, will chase his second gold medal. He is one of three South Koreans to have made it to the quarterfinals, but as fate would have it, Lim, Seo Yi-ra and

More SportsFeb. 16, 2018

[Newsmaker] Meet Randi Heesoo Griffin: the figure who scored Korea joint ice hockey team’s first and only Olympic goal

After suffering two shutout losses against Switzerland and Sweden, the unified Korean women’s ice hockey team made Olympic history by scoring its first and only goal in its match against Japan on Wednesday.Although Korea ended up losing to Japan in a 4-1 loss, the goal was celebrated by South Korean and American spectators as well as North Korea’s all-female cheerleading squad at the Kwandong Hockey Center.Takeuchi Aina of Japan (left) in action against Randi Heesoo Griffin of Korea (right) duri

SportsFeb. 15, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korean female curling team beats Canada in surprise move

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- South Korea’s female curling team on Thursday defeated Canada, considered the strongest gold candidate, in its first event at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.　During the competition held at the Gangneung Curling Centre, the team achieved a score of 8-6 against Canada. The Canadians lead the world in the sport and posted 13 consecutive wins at last year’s 2017 World Women‘s Curling Championship.The South Korean women`s curling team competes against Canada during the

Olympic GamesFeb. 15, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] ‘Proud’ American parents cheer on adopted daughter on Korean hockey team

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- Greg and Robin Brandt are proud hockey parents. They have not one, but two daughters playing in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics here this month.Sisters Hannah and Marissa Brandt (Instagram: @marissacbrandt)The twist: their two daughters, Marissa and Hannah, actually play for two different countries.Marissa Brandt, 25, is a minute-eating defensewoman for the joint Korean team. Born in South Korea, she was adopted by the Brandts as an infant, and after regaining her

Olympic GamesFeb. 15, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] North Korean figure skating pairs team sets personal best to finish 13th at PyeongChang

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- North Korean figure skating pairs team of Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik on Thursday established new personal best scores at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.　In the free skating held at the Gangneung Ice Arena, Ryom and Kim earned 124.23 points to break their previous personal high of 119.9 points. With a personal best 69.40 points in the short program on the previous day, they earned 193.63 points overall, the highest total of their career, to finish 13th. It‘s the hi

North KoreaFeb. 15, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Puck for Korea’s 1st Olympic goal headed to Hockey Hall of Fame

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- The puck used in Korea’s historic first goal in Olympic hockey is going to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, an official with the competition‘s organizing committee said Thursday.　Martin Hyun, deputy sport manager for hockey at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, said he secured the “historic puck” on Wednesday after Randi Heesoo Griffin scored for the joint Korean team against Japan in the second period at Kwandong Hockey Centre in Gangneung.　It was the inaugural g

Olympic GamesFeb. 15, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] South Korean speed skater Park Seung-hi thanks fans for support

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- Speed skater Park Seung-hi, who finished her Olympic career on ice this week, expressed gratitude to fans for their support on Thursday.　“I would like to express deep gratitude for the many people who encouraged my challenge, which could also seem reckless,” Park wrote on her Instagram page. South Korean speed skater Park Seung-hi (Yonhap)　The converted short tracker participated in her third Olympics here at the PyeongChang Winter Games -- her first as a speed ska

Olympic GamesFeb. 15, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] South Korean skeleton star set for coronation as new king on track

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- South Korean skeleton star Yun Sung-bin is set for a coronation as the new king of the sliding track on Friday.　After the first two of four runs Thursday, Yun found himself comfortably in first place at Olympic Sliding Centre in PyeongChang after breaking the track record twice.　He broke it the first time in his opening run of 50.28 seconds, improving the previous record, held by Martins Dukurs of Latvia, by 0.36 second. In the second run held about an hour later

Olympic GamesFeb. 15, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] NK taekwondo team heads back home after four shows

North Korean taekwondo performers returned home on Thursday, wrapping up their nine-day trip to South Korea.The 28-member group crossed the inter-Korean border to the North via Dorasan Customs, Immigration and Quarantine office in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, near the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas. North Korean taekwondo performers and officials return to the North via western land route. (Yonhap)The North Korean-led International Taekwon-Do Federation team led by chief Pak Yong-chil pa

North KoreaFeb. 15, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] South Korea’s sole Nordic combined skier disappointed by Olympics debut

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- South Korea’s lone Nordic combined skier Park Je-un expressed regret Thursday that he failed to overcome his nerves during his first Winter Olympics performance. 　Park finished 46th among 47 competitors in the individual Gundersen normal hill/10-kilometer event at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Wednesday with a time of 30 minutes, 56.5 seconds. He was more than six minutes slower than gold medalist Eric Frenzel of Germany. 　Although he became the first South

Olympic GamesFeb. 15, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Over 60 pct of S. Koreans support proposed inter-Korean summit: poll

　Six out of ten South Koreans think the two Koreas should hold another round of bilateral summit talks, a poll showed Thursday, amid an inter-Korean rapprochement driven by the Olympic Games currently under way in PyeongChang.　According to the Realmeter survey of 500 adults nationwide, 61.5 percent were in favor of a meeting between President Moon Jae-in and his northern counterpart Kim Jong-un.North Korea`s female cheerleading squad stages a performance in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, on the si

North KoreaFeb. 15, 2018

[Photo News] South Korean Olympic skeleton racer Yun Sung-bin takes off

SKELETON SLIDER TAKES OFF — South Korean skeleton racer Yun Sung-bin takes off in his first run in the men’s skeleton event at the Alpensia Sliding Center in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, Thursday. The medalists will be determined by their total times after four races. The first two runs are taking place Thursday, with the remainder scheduled for Friday. (Yonhap)SKELETON SLIDER TAKES OFF — South Korean skeleton racer Yun Sung-bin takes off in his first run in the men’s skeleton event at the Alp

Olympic GamesFeb. 15, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] US earns 100th Winter Olympic gold

When snowboarder Shaun White won his third Olympic gold medal in the men‘s halfpipe at PyeongChang on Wednesday, the United States became the second country to accumulate 100 Winter Olympic gold, following Norway, which stood at 121.White, 31, won the medal at Phoenix Snow Park in the Olympics host town of PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, with the top score of 97.75 points.Before PyeongChang, the US had 96 gold medals at the Winter Games. Also Wednesday, South Korea’s figure skating pairs team of

Olympic GamesFeb. 14, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Converted speed skater Park Seung-hi finishes 16th in women's 1,000m

Park Seung-hi, a former short track speed skating star, on Wednesday performed at her first and last Olympics as a speed skater, finishing 16th at the women's 1,000 meter race.   At her third Olympics, Park clocked 1:16.11 in the 1,000m race at Gangneung Oval, located in the sub-host city of Gangneung. The figure hovers below her personal best of 1:14.64 and season best of 1:14.64.   Dutch skater Jorien ter Mors captured gold with an Olympic record of 1:13.56, followed by Japan's Nao Kodaira wit

SportsFeb. 14, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Women's hockey forward has mixed emotions after scoring

After scoring a momentous goal in a loss, joint Korean women's hockey team forward Randi Heesoo Griffin was feeling a mixed bag of emotions on Wednesday.   Griffin, born to a Korean mother and an American father in North Carolina, scored the lone Korean goal in the second period of a 4-1 loss to Japan in Group B action at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, at Kwandong Hockey Centre in Gangneung. It was the first goal by a Korean hockey team, male or female, in the Olympics.   But Griffin was also

SportsFeb. 14, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Joint Korean team loses to Japan in women's hockey

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- The joint Korean women's hockey team suffered its third straight loss at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Wednesday, falling to Japan 4-1.   Randi Heesoo Griffin scored Korea's first-ever Olympic goal, in the second period, at Kwandong Hockey Centre in Gangneung, but it wasn't nearly enough as Korea's preliminary round ended unceremoniously with three losses, with one goal scored and 20 goals allowed.  Randi Heesoo Griffin (center) celebrates with teammates after scor

SportsFeb. 14, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] South Korea aims to score medals over weekend holiday

South Korea aims to clinch more medals over the long Lunar New Year holiday weekend at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, ranging from skeleton to short track and across speedskating. Skeleton slider Yoon Seong-bin, a strong favorite to win a medal, will compete in the men’s first and second heats alongside teammate Kim Ji-su at 10 a.m. on Thursday at Alpensia Sliding Center in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province. If he passes through, he will continue his run in the heat 3 and 4 at 9:30 a.m. on Friday. 

Olympic GamesFeb. 14, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Chicago news station under fire on ‘P.F. Chang’ Olympics

Chicago-based broadcaster ABC 7 has recently come under fire for “accidently” referring to the PyeongChang Olympics as the P.F. Chang Games on a graphic, referring to a national American-Chinese franchise restaurant in a live broadcast Saturday. WLS-Ch. 7 anchor Mark Rivera was discussing the political backdrop of the Winter Games on Saturday when the controversial “P.F. Chang” graphic logo, with the term replacing “PyeongChang” appeared over his shoulder. Viewers reported confusion and disbelie

Olympic GamesFeb. 14, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] US-born forward scores Korea's 1st ever goal in Olympic women's hockey

GANGNEUNG -- US-born forward Randi Heesoo Griffin scored the first goal for Korea in Olympic women's hockey on Wednesday.Griffin scored at the 9:31 mark in the second period against Japan in Group B action at Kwandong Hockey Centre in Gangneung, cutting the deficit to 2-1. (Yonhap)Born to a Korean mother and an American father in North Carolina, Griffin has been with the South Korean national team since 2015.Marissa Brandt, a Korean-born US adoptee playing under her birth name, Park Yoon-jung, g

More SportsFeb. 14, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] NK forward back in lineup for joint hockey team vs. Japan

North Korean forward Jong Su-hyon returned to the lineup of the joint Korean women's hockey team at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Wednesday.Jong is one of four North Koreans dressed for the final Group B game against Japan, alongside 18 South Koreans, at Kwandong Hockey Centre in Gangneung, host of all ice sports during PyeongChang 2018.Jong played in the team's first game against Switzerland last Saturday on the second line but sat out the next match against Sweden with a wrist injury. Hea

More SportsFeb. 14, 2018