Lee Sang-hwa goes for second straight Olympic gold

Speed skating world record holder Lee Sang-hwa will chase her second straight Olympic gold in the women's 500 meters on Tuesday at the Sochi Winter Olympics.Lee was the surprise Olympic champion four years ago in Vancouver and has dominated the 500ｍ event since then. She set her first world record in January last year and broke it three times in November. Lee is trying to become only the third woman to repeat as the Olympic champ in the 500ｍ.The women's curling team will face Japan and then Swit

Feb. 11, 2014

Speed skater Mo Tae-bum fails to win medal

South Korean speed skater Mo Tae-bum finished fourth in the men's 500 meters at the Sochi Winter Games on Monday, coming up just short of the country's first medal in Russia.In the two-race event at Adler Arena Skating Center, Mo had a combined time of 69.69 seconds -- 0.38 second behind the champion, Michel Mulder of the Netherlands.Mo was in fourth place after the opening race at 34.84 seconds, 0.25 second behind the leader, Jan Smeekens of the Netherlands, and finished his second race in 34.8

Feb. 11, 2014

Speed skater Mo Tae-bum in fourth after first race in men's 500m

South Korean speed skater Mo Tae-bum finished fourth in the opening race of the men's 500 meters at the Sochi Winter Games on Monday, keeping alive his chance to win a second straight Olympic gold.Mo finished the first run of the two-race event in 34.84 seconds, 0.25 second behind the leader Jan Smeekens of the Netherlands.The second races will start at 6:55 p.m. in Russia (11:55 p.m. in South Korea).Mo was grouped in the 18th among 20 pairs and skated in the outer lane next to Joji Kato of Japa

Feb. 10, 2014

Short tracker Lee Han-bin finishes sixth in men's 1,500 meters

South Korean short track speed skater Lee Han-bin finished sixth in the men's 1,500 meters on Monday at the Sochi Winter Olympics.Lee, the only South Korean in the finals, came up short of winning the country's first medal at the ongoing Winter Games.In the seven-man final, Lee started the 13 1/2-lap race in the back of the pack. He moved up to fifth place with nine laps to go, and passed another skater in the next lap. That was as close as Lee came to winning a medal, however, as he slipped to

Feb. 10, 2014

Golden hopefuls in Sochi

Olympic speed skating champion Lee Sang-hwa, who earned South Korea the gold medal in the women’s 500 meters in Vancouver four years ago and currently holds the world record in the event at 36.36 seconds, is set to race toward another golden finish in Sochi on Tuesday. The women’s 500-meter race will begin at 9:45 p.m. on Feb. 11, Korean time, at the Adler Arena Skating Center in Sochi. Lee will likely face fierce competition from Germany’s Jenny Wolf, China’s Beixing Wang, Russia’s Olga Fatkuli

Feb. 10, 2014

Russia wins team skating for 1st gold

SOCHI, Russia (AP) ― A master showman and four-time Olympic medalist, Evgeni Plushenko knows brilliance on the ice.He saw it Sunday night inside the Iceberg at Sochi’s Olympic Park from a countrywoman half his age. And he is certain Russia’s figure skating future is secure in the skates of Julia Lipnitskaia.“She is a genius,” Plushenko said.Along with eight teammates, the 31-year-old veteran and 15-year-old Olympic rookie won the new event of team figure skating and lifted the host nation to its

Feb. 10, 2014

What Olympic athletes do for a living

Entering fourth day into the Sochi Olympics, some of the athletes’ day jobs came under the spotlight.The jobs include lawyers, teachers, handymen, and even restaurant managers.British violinist Vanessa-Mae, having sold in excess of 10 million album, is one of the athletes who left her day job for some time to participate in the Sochi Olympics. The 35-year-old is set to chase gold for her father’s homeland Thailand in alpine skiing as Vanessa Vanakorn using her Thai father’s surname. The alpine s

Feb. 10, 2014

Speed skater hoping to take home Olympic medal for ailing brother

South Korean speed skater Noh Seon-yeong is competing at her third Winter Olympics in Russia this month, but she likely never felt the weight that she is carrying now.When Noh, 24, took the ice at Adler Arena Skating Center for the women's 3,000 meters, the first of her three events in Sochi, she did so with her ailing brother, former short track world champion Noh Jin-kyu, on her mind.Jin-kyu, 21, has been diagnosed with bone cancer in his left shoulder and has been prescribed chemotherapy. He

Feb. 10, 2014

Bjoerndalen oldest to win winter gold

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) ― Ole Einar Bjoerndalen had just become the oldest Winter Olympic individual gold medalist ― at age 40 ― when he was hugged by a fellow Norwegian whose records he might soon overtake.Cross-country skiing great Bjoern Daehlie embraced Bjoerndalen in the finish area Saturday, shortly after the biathlete had pulled off an upset win in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint at the Sochi Games.Bjoerndalen beat the age record held by Canadian skeleton racer Duff Gibson, who was 39

Feb. 9, 2014

U.S., Canadians dismiss talk of figure skating 'fix'

United States and Canadian figure skating officials on Saturday dismissed reports of a possible judging fix to ensure that Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White would win the Olympic ice dancing gold.French magazine L'Equipe, citing an unnamed Russian source, reported that a deal had been struck between the United States and Russia to ensure that the Americans would take the title ahead of Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada.It claimed that the United States would support t

Feb. 9, 2014

Speed skater to take ice with heavy heart

When speed skater Noh Seon-young takes the ice for the women's 3,000 meters at Adler Arena Skating Center at the Sochi Winter Olympics on Sunday, she will do so with a heavy heart.Noh, 24, is an older sister of former short track world champion Noh Jin-kyu, who was forced to miss Sochi while battling bone cancer. The siblings have both qualified for the Olympics, but the brother broke his elbow during a practice in January that ruled him out of the Olympics.Noh also underwent surgery to remove a

Feb. 9, 2014

Speed skater Lee Seung-hoon finishes 12th in men's 5,000 meters

South Korean speed skater Lee Seung-hoon  finished a disappointing 12th in the men's 5,000 meters at the Sochi Winter Olympics on Saturday. At Adler Arena Skating Center, Lee finished the race in 6:25.61, coming up well short of winning his second straight Olympic medal in the event. At the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Lee won the silver medal for South Korea's first medal there. Lee will try to defend his Olympic title in the 10,000ｍ on Feb.18. He's also slated to compete in the tea

Feb. 8, 2014

Korea 60th nation to enter stadium

South Korea will be represented by its largest Winter Games delegation, with 71 athletes and 49 officials. The country will participate in every sport except ice hockey. Veteran speed skater Lee Kyou-hyuk, competing in his sixth Olympics, served as a flag bearer for South Korea at the ceremony.He has participated in more Olympics than any other South Korean.Under the official name the Republic of Korea, South Korea was the 60th nation to enter the stadium, according to the alphabetical order of

Feb. 8, 2014

Sochi Olympics kick off with grand opening

Music, dance and plenty of Russian bravado unleashed the ultimate achievement of Vladimir Putin's Russia on Friday _ a Winter Olympics to showcase the best athletes on ice and snow that the world has to offer.The opening ceremony on the edge of the Black Sea and subsequent games are Russia's chance to tell its story of post-Soviet resurrection to the world, and dispel the anger, fear and suspicion that has marred the buildup to these most expensive Olympics ever.Just after the sun set over the C

Feb. 8, 2014