[PyeongChang 2018] With more golds in sight, South Korea targets fourth spot on medals table

Energized by short track medals over the Lunar New Year weekend, South Korea will attempt to add to its medal haul at the PyeongChang Winter Games in its quest to finish fourth overall.The nation’s first Winter Games and second Olympics since the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul reached its midway point Saturday, nine days after it kicked off on Feb. 9. The international sporting event wraps up on Feb. 25, with nearly 3,000 athletes from 92 countries competing for a record 102 gold medals. As of 4:30

Feb. 18, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] N. Korean skiers thank cheerleaders, look forward to next Olympics

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- Two North Korean alpine skiers who competed in the men's giant slalom at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics said Sunday they received a big boost from their compatriots' avid support.Kang Song-il and Choe Myong-gwang were the two North Koreans who raced at Yongpyong Alpine Centre in PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul. At the venue for alpine technical events, Choe and Kang finished 74th and 75th, respectively, among the 75 skiers who finished their race.

Feb. 18, 2018

[Photo News] Lee Sang-hwa to take crack at 3rd gold

South Korean speedskater Lee Sang-hwa was seen training Saturday at the Gangneung Oval, a day before her attempt at her third Olympic gold medal.　Lee will compete in the women’s 500 meter speedskating event at Gangneung Oval in the sub-host city of Gangneung on Sunday. 　The two-time Olympic champion decided to turn her full focus to the 500m race, dropping out of Wednesday’s 1,000m event in order to concentrate on Sunday’s competition.　Lee is the current 500m world record holder at 36.36 seconds

Feb. 18, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Joint Korean team loses to Switzerland in women's hockey classification match

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- The joint Korean women's hockey team lost to Switzerland 2-0 in a women's hockey qualification match at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Sunday.The loss at Kwandong Hockey Centre in Gangneung was Korea's second to Switzerland in eight days, though Korea put up a much stronger fight in this one. On Feb. 10, Switzerland blanked Korea 8-0, spoiling a historic Olympic debut for the first combined Korean team. The joint Korean women`s hockey team players huddle around

Feb. 18, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Post-Olympic fate of 3 major PyeongChang venues still undecided: IOC

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- The International Olympic Committee is content with most of the legacy initiatives for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, a senior IOC official said Sunday, but noted that the fates of three major venues are still undecided."They've done the right things, fundamentally developing the infrastructures that will help this region be more successful," Christophe Dubi, the Olympic Games executive director for the IOC, said at a press conference at the Main Press Centre i

Feb. 18, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] 3 N. Koreans dress for joint hockey team's classification match

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- Three North Koreans, including one new face, will dress for the joint Korean female hockey team's first classification match against Switzerland at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Sunday.At least three out of 22 players in the lineup for each game here must be from North Korea, as per terms set by the International Olympic Committee for the combined team last month. And head coach Sarah Murray went with forwards Kim Un-hyang and Kim Hyang-mi, and defender Jin Ok

Feb. 18, 2018

Moon offers encouragement to short track skaters

President Moon Jae-in on Sunday offered words of encouragement to South Korean short track skaters who garnered one gold and one bronze in their matches at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics a day earlier.In his posts on Facebook and Twitter, Moon called them the "world's strongest," praising their efforts to "push their limits" to make it to the quadrennial games that run until next Sunday."I appreciate the efforts by our national short track representatives who are the world's strongest," Moon sa

Feb. 18, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] From cleaner bots to robotic fish, South Korea’s robots impress Olympic visitors

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- Typically, world-class athletes make up the core of any Olympic Games. At PyeongChang, however, an unlikely entity has emerged as a new star: high-tech robots roaming the premises of the Olympic venues.　From a self-navigating cleaner bot vaguely resembling Star Wars’ R2-D2 to autonomous drink-serving robots and robotic fish swimming inside water tanks, South Korea’s service robots have been capturing the attention of Olympic guests from around the world.Korea has

Feb. 18, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Koreans to compete against one another in men's 500m speed skating

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- South Koreans will compete against one another for medals in the men's 500 meter speed skating event at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Monday, while the country's ice dance duo will try to seek redemption after a wardrobe malfunction in their team event last week.Male speed skaters Mo Tae-bum, Cha Min-kyu and Kim Jun-ho are scheduled to compete in the men's 500m at Gangneung Oval in the sub-host city of Gangneung.Mo, a surprise 500m champion at the 2010 Vanco

Feb. 18, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korean ski jumper fails to reach large hill final

South Korean ski jumper Choi Se-ou failed to reach the final round of the men's large hill individual at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Saturday.Choi finished 45th out of 50 ski jumpers in the first round with 93.2 points following a 114-meter jump. The final round is only open to the top 30 performers. (Yonhap)The 35-year-old was the only South Korean competing in the first round at Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, after he made it out of the qualification round

Feb. 18, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korea’s Seo Yi-ra wins bronze in men’s 1,000m short track

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- South Korea's Seo Yi-ra on Saturday won bronze in men's 1,000 meter short track speed skating at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.Seo, the reigning world overall champion in short track, finished third in the 1,000m finals at the Gangeung Ice Arena, behind Canadian Samuel Girard and US John-Henry Krueger.His teammate Lim Hyo-jun finished fourth after a collision with Seo and Shaolin Sandor Liu of Hungary, who was disqualified for an impeding penalty.Seo and Lim were

Feb. 17, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Choi Min-jeong wins gold in 1,500m short-track skate

South Korea's Choi Min-jeong won the gold medal in the Winter Olympics' women's 1,500 meter short-track speed skating event in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, on Saturday night.Choi Min-jeong celebrates her victory. (Yonhap)Choi Min-jeong (center) poses with silver medalist Li Jinyu (left) and bronze medalist Kim Boutin of Canada at the medal-awarding ceremony in Gangneung Ice Arena on Saturday. (Yonhap)It is the first time in 12 years that South Korea known as powerhouse of the short-track speed s

Feb. 17, 2018

Gangwon governor eyes co-hosting of Asian Winter Games with NK

The governor of Gangwon Province, where PyeongChang is located, said Saturday he is considering a bid to co-host the 2021 Asian Winter Games (AWG) with North Korea. "We will start the process (for a feasibility review) soon after the PyeongChang Winter Games," Gov. Choi Moon-soon said at a press conference in Gangneung, a sub-host city of the PyeongChang Winter Games.The governor said the plan would enable "a better utilization of the infrastructure of PyeongChang after the games and continued i

Feb. 17, 2018

[Newsmaker] 'Ice Prince' Hanyu reigns with second skating gold

Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu clinched the first back-to-back men's Olympic figure skating title in more than six decades on Saturday to cement his status as the "Ice Prince" of the modern era.The 23-year-old superstar made light of a three-month injury hiatus to emulate American Dick Button, who won gold in 1948 and 1952.Hanyu led a Japanese one-two as Shoma Uno took silver, ahead of Spain's Javier Fernandez with bronze. (AFP)"I'm relieved to be able to skate here as a lot of people supported me," Hanyu

Feb. 17, 2018

[Photo News] Cha Jun-hwan ups personal best in free skate

Korean figure skater Cha Jun-hwan rewrote his personal best in the free skate event at the Winter Olympics men’s event at PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, Saturday, marking 165.16 points despite a mistake.  Cha Jun-hwan (Yonhap) The 16-year-old skater ranked 15th, tallying 248.59 total points, a best for men’s figure skating for South Korea. Japan’s “figure skating prince,” Yuzuru Hanyu took the gold meda

Feb. 17, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Joint women's hockey coach says players 'more emotionally ready' vs. Switzerland in rematch

When the joint Korean women's hockey team takes on Switzerland in an Olympic rematch, the young players will be more "emotionally ready" than the previous game, their coach said Saturday.Switzerland fell to the Olympic Athletes of Russia team 6-2 in the quarterfinals at Kwandong Hockey Centre in Gangneung on Saturday. The loss dropped the Swiss to the classification stage, where the unified Korean team awaits them for their second showdown at 12:10 p.m. Sunday.The joint team, made up of 23 South

Feb. 17, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] S. Korean freestyle skier fails to make cut in women's slopestyle

South Korean freestyle skier Lee Mee-hyun failed to make the cut in the women's slopestyle event at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Saturday.Lee finished 13th among 23 contestants in the women's ski slopestyle qualification round and missed the finals where only the top 12 can perform. She was only 0.2 point behind the 12th-place Maggie Voisin of the United States. (Yonhap)At the PyeongChang Olympics, the skiers had to go through two qualifying runs, as the best score counted. Lee marked 46.8

Feb. 17, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Joint Korean team to face Switzerland in women's hockey classification match

The joint Korean women's hockey team will face Switzerland in the first classification match Sunday.Switzerland lost to the team of Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) by 6-2 in the quarterfinals on Saturday at Kwandong Hockey Centre in Gangneung and was relegated to the classification contest against Korea at 12:10 p.m. Sunday.This will be a rematch of the first Group B contest between the two in the preliminary round last Saturday, when Switzerland pounded the overmatched Korea 8-0. (Yonhap)The

Feb. 17, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Teenage skater Cha Jun-hwan eyes Beijing 2022

In his first Olympics and second senior competition, 16-year-old Cha Jun-hwan broke his personal high scores both in the short and free programs.He finished 15th in the men's singles figure skating competition at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics with an overall 248.59 points, marking the highest ranking by a South Korean male skater at an Olympics. Cha Jun-hwan (Yonhap)The previous high was a 17th finish by Jung Sung-il at the Lillehammer Olympics in 1994.Looking at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympi

Feb. 17, 2018

[PyeongChang 2018] Adoptee skier competes in motherland

Born in South Korea and adopted to an American home, Lee Mee-hyun was the only Korean to compete in the women’s slopestyle skiing at the 2018 PyeongChang Games.Despite coming up short on her goal to reach the finals, the PyeongChang Games have had a special meaning to her.  Lee Mee-hyun (Korean Sport & Olympic Committee)Lee was born in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, on Oct. 25, 1994, and was soon adopted by her foster parents in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whereupon she became Jackie Kling. H

Feb. 17, 2018