S. Korean bobsleigh pilot finding groove ahead of Beijing Olympics

With one month to go before the Beijing Winter Olympics, South Korean bobsleigh pilot Won Yun-jong seems to be finally hitting his stride. After a series of mediocre showings, Won and his brakeman, Kim Jin-su, posted their first top-10 finishes of this season in the two-man bobsleigh at the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup in Sigulda, Latvia, over the weekend. On New Year's Day, they ranked a season-high ninth with a combined time of 1:39.77 after two runs. Th

Jan. 4, 2022

Question marks linger for S. Korea with Beijing Winter Olympics nearing

With only about a month left until the start of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, South Korea still doesn't know if one of its best medal hopes will compete in China. That bit of uncertainty is unwelcoming for a country that may fall well short of the glory it enjoyed as the host of the previous Winter Olympics four years ago. The athlete in question is Shim Suk-hee, a two-time gold medalist in short track speed skating. On Dec. 21, Shim was suspended for two months by the Korea Skating Uni

Jan. 2, 2022

Beijing Winter Olympics fast approaching amid ongoing woes

With the new year having dawned, the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games are on the horizon, as problems ranging from a global pandemic to diplomatic boycotts to lack of star power threaten to plague preparations for China's next global showcase. The 24th Winter Olympics will open on Feb. 4 and wrap up on Feb. 20. It will be the last of three consecutive Olympic Games to take place in East Asia. South Korea started the unprecedented streak with the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Japan follo

Jan. 2, 2022

Short tracker Shim Suk-hee declines to appeal Olympic ban, considers other options

South Korean Olympic short track champion Shim Suk-hee has declined to appeal a recent two-month ban, an official confirmed Thursday, though the skater is mulling other options to get herself reinstated for the Beijing Winter Games in February. The Korea Skating Union (KSU) slapped Shim with the two-month penalty on Dec. 21, over her disparaging remarks on South Korean teammates and coaches in text messages during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Shim had until Wednesday to submit her appe

Dec. 30, 2021

Seoul to host intl. Olympic meeting in 2022

South Korea will host a meeting of over 200 national Olympic committees in 2022, one year after losing the event to the coronavirus pandemic. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) announced Monday that Seoul will host the 26th General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) on Oct. 19 and 20 in 2022. The KSOC added it won the right to bring the event home during the 25th General Assembly in Greece this week. Seoul had been chosen as host of the 25th ANOC Ge

Oct. 25, 2021

Paralympics open in empty stadium -- just like Olympics

TOKYO (AP) -- The Paralympics began Tuesday in the same empty National Stadium -- during the same pandemic -- as the opening and closing ceremonies of the recently completed Tokyo Olympics. Japanese Emperor Naruhito got it all started again, this time under the theme "We Have Wings." Among the few on hand were Douglas Emhoff, husband of US Vice President Kamala Harris, International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons and International Olympic President Thomas Bach. It

Aug. 24, 2021

Volleyball great Kim Yeon-koung finalizes retirement from int'l play

  South Korean volleyball star Kim Yeon-koung finalized her retirement from international play on Thursday, following a meeting with the head of the sport's national governing body. The Korea Volleyball Association (KVA) announced that Kim reaffirmed her decision to leave the national team in a meeting with KVA President Oh Han-nam earlier Thursday. Kim had first revealed her plans to retire from international play on Sunday, moments after South Korea's loss to Serbia in the bronze meda

Aug. 12, 2021

Volleyball great Kim Yeon-koung leaves door open for return to int'l play

Will she stay or will she go? It was on Sunday that the South Korean volleyball icon Kim Yeon-koung announced her retirement from international play, following the team's loss to Serbia in the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics. But a little over 24 hours later, Kim didn't seem so sure anymore. Kim and the rest of her team arrived back home Monday night from Tokyo, greeted by dozens of fans at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, after making a surprising run to the semifinals

Aug. 10, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] S. Korea's 1st Olympic modern pentathlete 'proud' of the country's breakthrough medal

TOKYO -- It was nearly six decades ago in Tokyo that Choi Kui-sung became the first South Korean modern pentathlete to participate in the Olympic Games. Now in 2021, the country finally has an Olympic medalist in the sport, as Jun Woong-tae captured the historic bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday. History has come full circle, and Choi, now 80, couldn't be prouder. "Not just anyone can win an Olympic medal. (Jun) has done such a wonderful job and I am proud of him," Choi

Aug. 9, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Teammates bid adieu to volleyball legend Kim Yeon-koung

TOKYO -- Over the past decade or so, South Korean middle blocker Yang Hyo-jin has had a front row seat watching her longtime national teammate, Kim Yeon-koung, evolve from a 20-something prospect to one of the world's best volleyball players. After Kim, 33, announced her retirement from international play Sunday, in the aftermath of South Korea's loss to Serbia in the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics, Yang reflected on what Kim has meant to her and to volleyball in South Korea. "I

Aug. 9, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Pandemic-era Tokyo Olympic Games draw to close

The Olympic flame that has been burning for the past two weeks in Tokyo was extinguished Sunday, closing the first Summer Games held during the global coronavirus pandemic with a celebration of great athletic feats. That the Tokyo Olympics even happened, albeit one year later than scheduled, is an accomplishment in and of itself. The buildup to the multisport competition was met with skepticism from both home and abroad, with many wondering if it was feasible to bring over 11,000 athletes fro

Aug. 8, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] No medal for S. Korea on final day

TOKYO -- South Korea has concluded the Tokyo Olympics with six gold, four silver and 10 bronze medals. The country didn't pick up any medal Sunday, the final day of competitions. The women's volleyball team had South Korea's last opportunity for a medal but lost to Serbia in the bronze medal match by 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-15) at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Ranked 12th in the world and not considered a medal threat, South Korea made a valiant run to the semifinals here. With captain Kim Yeon-koung l

Aug. 8, 2021

[Newsmaker] [Tokyo Olympics] Moon applauds women's volleyball team for 'touching' Olympic match

President Moon Jae-in applauded the South Korean women's volleyball team Sunday, praising its unsuccessful but "extraordinarily touching" bid to win a medal at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. "The team extraordinarily touched (the hearts of Koreans)," Moon wrote on social media after the women's team ended its Olympic competition in fourth place. In the bronze medal match held earlier in the day at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, the South Korean women's team lost to Serbia 0-3, fallin

Aug. 8, 2021

[Tokyo Olympcis] S. Korean Olympians set 5 new records in Tokyo

South Korea may have received disappointing results at the Tokyo Olympics, which closes Sunday, recording its lowest gold medal haul of six in 37 years. But some of its players pulled off their best performances at the world's biggest sporting competition, breaking one Olympic record and setting four national records. Archer An San, who won three of the country's six gold medals in Tokyo, set new Olympic records in the women's ranking round on July 23 with a total of 680 points. It is the firs

Aug. 8, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] New stars soar, past medalists stumble in Tokyo

TOKYO -- It didn't take long for new stars to emerge for South Korea at the Tokyo Olympics. In fact, it happened just hours before the opening ceremony on July 23. An San set an Olympic record score of 680 out of a maximum 720 to finish first in the women's archery ranking round. As the top seed, the 20-year-old would represent the country in the inaugural mixed team event, alongside Kim Je-deok, the 17-year-old who won the men's ranking round. The fiery Kim fist-pumped and screamed his way i

Aug. 8, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] S. Korea falls short of medal target in 1st Olympics during pandemic

TOKYO -- South Korea's streak of finishing in the top 10 in the Summer Olympic medal race came to an end at four events in Tokyo, though the competition still provided many memorable moments and records for the country that prides itself in being a consistent Olympic force every four years. South Korea ended with six gold, four silver and 10 bronze medals, a handful of gold medals shy of cracking the top 10. For Tokyo, the wait between the Olympic Games ended up being five years, after the COV

Aug. 8, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] After journey ends in defeat, volleyball players believe foundation laid for future

TOKYO -- All good things must come to an end, and a feel-good story of South Korea's improbable run to the final four at the Tokyo Olympic women's volleyball tournament was no exception. South Korea lost to Serbia in straight sets in the bronze medal match Sunday at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Ranked 12th, South Korea wasn't expected to beat the sixth-ranked Serbia. In fact, few had predicted South Korea would even get this deep into the tournament. South Korea made it out of the group stage thanks

Aug. 8, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Volleyball coach hails outgoing captain: 'incredible human being, amazing player'

TOKYO -- Following his team's loss to Serbia in the bronze medal match of the Tokyo Olympic women's volleyball tournament Sunday, South Korea head coach Stefano Lavarini stood only a few feet away from his captain Kim Yeon-koung as she was announcing her retirement from international play. With Lavarini's contract also expiring at the conclusion of the Olympics and Kim unlikely to change her mind at age 33, the pair may just have played their final match together. The Italy-born coach reserved

Aug. 8, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Volleyball great Kim Yeon-koung retires from int'l play

TOKYO -- South Korean volleyball legend Kim Yeon-koung announced her retirement from international play Sunday, an hour after the team's straight-set loss to Serbia in the bronze medal match of the Tokyo Olympics. Fighting back tears after South Korea fell short of a medal at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Kim said she has played her last match for the national team. "Today was my last game as a national team player," Kim said. "It's disappointing to end the Olympics like this. But I am

Aug. 8, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] S. Korea loses to Serbia to finish 4th in women's volleyball

TOKYO -- South Korea lost to Serbia in the bronze medal match of the Tokyo Olympic women's volleyball tournament Sunday, as the unlikely storybook run to the final four came to a heartbreaking end. The sixth-ranked Serbia took down No. 12 South Korea 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-15) at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. This is the final day of the Olympics. Captain Kim Yeon-koung led South Korea with 11 points. South Korea had no answer for Tijana Boskovic, who dominated with 33 points. South Korea managed to

Aug. 8, 2021