Beijing 2022 medalists returning to action at annual nat'l competition

There will be little time for rest for the weary South Korea medalists and other participating athletes from the recently concluded Beijing Winter Olympics, with an annual national winter sports competition starting Friday. The 103rd edition of the National Winter Sports Festival will run from Friday to Monday at multiple locations across the country. This year's event will start only five days after the end of Beijing 2022, where South Korea grabbed two gold medals, five silver medals and two b

Olympic GamesFeb. 23, 2022

COVID-19 causing disruptions across sports leagues

A surge in coronavirus cases has been wreaking havoc on playing schedules in South Korean professional sports this month, an eerie deja vu to previous springs when seasons were postponed or even canceled outright at the onset of the pandemic. The top two divisions in pro football just had their first weekend of the season, and it's the volleyball and basketball leagues, with their seasons in full swing for months, that have been hit the hardest. The Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO), which run

More SportsFeb. 22, 2022

[Graphic News] South Korea achieves Olympic goal

　The 2022 Beijing Olympics ended Sunday evening despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 　South Korea finished with two gold medals and three silver medals in short track speedskating despite hurdles and added two silver and two bronze in other speedskating events. The country achieved its stated goal, as the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee previously predicted a medal target of two Olympic gold medals and to finish around the top 15 in the medal race. 　South Korea grabbed its very first

SportsFeb. 21, 2022

[BEIJING OLYMPICS] Bubble bursts: Beijing Winter Games end with muted celebration of athletes

BEIJING -- The Olympic flame in Beijing was extinguished on Sunday to mark the conclusion of the first Winter Games during the global COVID-19 pandemic, as a muted closing ceremony celebrated athletic feats from snow, ice and track over the past two weeks. The 24th Winter Olympics put participating athletes, officials, workforce and media into a bubble, or formally called the "closed-loop system," to keep them separated from the general public in the Chinese capital. They were confine

Olympic GamesFeb. 20, 2022

[BEIJING OLYMPICS] Bobsledders struggle in S. Korea's last event at Beijing 2022

BEIJING -- There was no last-day magic this time, as the South Korean bobsleigh pilot Won Yun-jong failed to take his four-man team to the podium on Sunday in Beijing as he had done four years ago on home soil. Won, Kim Jin-su, Kim Dong-hyun and Jung Hyun-woo finished in 18th place in the four-man bobsleigh competition with a time of 3:58.02 after four runs at Yanqing National Sliding Centre in Yanqing District, northwestern Beijing. The first two runs took place on Saturday and the final two ru

Olympic GamesFeb. 20, 2022

[BEIJING OLYMPICS] S. Korean Olympic chief lauds athletes' efforts, vows to develop more winter sports talent

BEIJING -- South Korea's top Olympic official praised strong efforts by the country's athletes at Beijing 2022 on Sunday, while also recognizing the need to nurture future Winter Olympic stars away from ice. Lee Kee-heung, president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC), held a press conference in the Chinese capital to discuss South Korea's performance at the 2022 Winter Games. With the competition drawing to a conclusion Sunday, South Korea finished with two gold, five silver and

Olympic GamesFeb. 20, 2022

[BEIJING OLYMPICS] S. Korea decides not to appeal Beijing short track refereeing to top sports court

BEIJING -- South Korea has decided not to appeal short track speed skating refereeing at Beijing 2022 to the top global sports tribunal, the country's Olympic chief said Sunday. At a press conference in Beijing, Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) President Lee Kee-heung said the decision was reached after consultations with legal experts. The KSOC had earlier sought to take its appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after two South Korean short track speed skaters, Hwang Dae

Olympic GamesFeb. 20, 2022

[BEIJING OLYMPICS] Amid pandemic, controversy, S. Korea meets modest medal target in Beijing

BEIJING -- In late December, about a month and a half before the start of Beijing 2022, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) announced a rather modest medal target: win one or two gold medals and finish around the top 15 in the medal race. That low target did not sit well with South Korean athletes, who voiced confidence they could exceed that number. Some close calls and unexpected challenges later, those athletes went out and met the goal right on the number. South Korea finished th

Olympic GamesFeb. 20, 2022

[BEIJING OLYMPICS] Once teen prodigy, speed skater Chung Jae-won comes into his own with mass start silver

Chung Jae-won was born in the first year of the 21st century, a bundle of speed skating potential waiting to be tapped. The first glimpse of that talent came four years ago at PyeongChang 2018, when Chung, all of 16, earned the silver medal in the men’s team pursuit. A fuller realization occurred Saturday in Beijing, where Chung, still four months away from his 21st birthday, skated to the silver medal in the men’s mass start. At 7:47.18, Chung finished 0.07 bacK of the champion, B

Olympic GamesFeb. 19, 2022

[BEIJING OLYMPICS] Veteran speed skater adds record-setting medal to Olympic legacy

Over his illustrious Olympic career spanning four competitions, South Korean speed skater Lee Seung-hoon has done nothing but win medals. And with the bronze medal in the men‘s mass start at Beijing 2022 on Saturday, Lee now has six medals for his career, more than any South Korean athlete in Winter Olympic history. With two golds, three silvers and one bronze, he is tied with two Summer Olympians for most medals by a South Korean: pistol shooter Jin Jong-oh and archer Kim Soo-nyung. &ld

Olympic GamesFeb. 19, 2022

[BEIJING OLYMPICS] Bobsleigh pilot looking to repeat last-day drama

South Korean bobsleigh pilot Won Yun-jong led his four-man team to an unexpected silver medal on the final day of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. With Beijing 2022 drawing to a conclusion Sunday, Won and his new-look four-man unit will try to repeat that performance from four years ago. The final two runs of the four-man bobsleigh competition will be the final event for South Korea in the Chinese capital. The race takes place at Yanqing National Sliding Centre in Yanqing, northwestern

Olympic GamesFeb. 19, 2022

[BEIJING OLYMPICS] Speed skater going for record-setting medal in likely last Olympics

BEIJING -- Beijing 2022 could be the final Winter Games for the speed skater Lee Seung-hoon, who shares a South Korean Winter Olympic record with five career medals. Lee will take his one last crack at a medal at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on Saturday in the men's mass start. Lee is the defending champion of the event, which will see skaters take a start en masse, a la short track style. At 33, Lee has been on the downslope. It became evident early in these Olympic Games, when he

Olympic GamesFeb. 18, 2022

[BEIJING OLYMPICS] Short track champion considers Beijing gold her most valuable medal

Of the five Winter Olympic medals she has won in short track speed skating, Choi Min-jeong sees the most recent one as her most valuable, because of the emotional roller-coaster ride she had leading up to that victory. Choi said she still had to pinch herself on Thursday, a day after capturing gold in the women's 1,500m in Beijing. "This gold medal means more to me than all the other medals I've won," Choi said at a press conference at the Main Media Centre for Beijing 2022 on Thur

Olympic GamesFeb. 17, 2022

[BEIJING OLYMPICS] Short tracker skates around officiating controversy

Having collected two medals in the aftermath of a refereeing controversy at Beijing 2022, South Korean short track speed skater Hwang Dae-heon is staying above the fray. "I was very disappointed at the time, but it's now up to others to handle this going forward," Hwang said at a press conference at the Main Media Centre in Beijing Thursday, a day after the end of the short track competition. "I don't think I should be saying anything more at this point." Hwang was referri

Olympic GamesFeb. 17, 2022

[BEIJING OLYMPICS] S. Korea eliminated in women's curling

South Korea was knocked out of the women's curling tournament at Beijing 2022 on Thursday following an 8-4 loss to Sweden in the final round-robin match. South Korea, which won a surprise silver medal in 2018, finished in eighth place in the 10-team round robin session, with only the top four advancing to the semifinals. At 4-5, South Korea, lead by skip Kim Eun-jung, had an identical record with the United States and China but ranked behind both countries, because it had lost to both teams e

Olympic GamesFeb. 17, 2022

[BEIJING OLYMPICS] Curlers determined to keep going after emotional loss in Beijing

The second Winter Olympics together for South Korea's Team Kim ended prematurely in women's curling on Thursday, but the curlers said missing out on the knockout stage in Beijing doesn't have to mean the end of their run together. Needing to beat Sweden in the final round-robin game to sneak into the semifinals, South Korea instead lost 8-4 at the National Aquatics Centre in the Chinese capital. Led by skip Kim Eun-jung, South Korea ended up in eighth place in the 10-team competition at 4-5.

Olympic GamesFeb. 17, 2022

[BEIJING OLYMPICS] Despite hurdles, S. Korea still rules in short track speed skating

BEIJING -- After helping South Korea to the silver medal in the women's 3,000m relay in short track speed skating at Beijing 2022 last Friday, Choi Min-jeong spoke about how she and her teammates "did the best we could under the circumstances." She didn't elaborate, but for those who have been following short track or the Beijing Winter Olympics, she didn't have to. And despite those challenges, South Korea still led all countries with five medals in short track here, with two golds an

Olympic GamesFeb. 17, 2022

[BEIJING OLYMPICS] Speed skating medalists in pursuit of 2nd medal in Beijing

BEIJING -- A pair of South Korean speed skating medalists will be back at the oval for a chance to win their second medal in Beijing on Friday. Kim Min-seok, the men's 1,500m bronze medalist from Feb. 8, and Cha Min-kyu, who won silver in the men's 500m four days later, will both compete in the 1,000m at the National Speed Skating Oval on Friday. In this past International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup season, Cha ranked 10th overall in the 1,000m standings, and Kim was 17th. But those ranking p

Olympic GamesFeb. 17, 2022

[BEIJING OLYMPICS] S. Korea captures gold and silver on last day of short track; curling team stays alive

BEIJING -- South Korea collected a gold medal and a silver medal on the final day of short track speed skating at Beijing 2022 on Wednesday, a feel-good finishing touch to what began as a tumultuous event just over a week ago. Choi Min-jeong defended her gold medal in the women's 1,500m final, the very last short track race held at Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing. She beat out Arianna Fontana of Italy and Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands for her third medal in Beijing. Choi had earlier won

Olympic GamesFeb. 17, 2022

[BEIJING OLYMPICS] Short tracker Choi Min-jeong wins gold in women’s 1,500m

BEIJING -- Choi Min-jeong successfully defended her gold medal in the women’s 1,500m short track speed skating race in Beijing on Wednesday, earning her third medal in the Chinese capital in her final race here. Choi defeated Arianna Fontana of Italy for gold at Capital Indoor Stadium. Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands earned the bronze. This was South Korea’s second gold medal from short track at Beijing 2022 and its second gold medal overall, too. Choi had earlier won s

Olympic GamesFeb. 16, 2022