(Olympics) S Korea-1st medal

▲ Kim Min-seok of South Korea competes in the men's 1,500m speed skating race at the Beijing Winter Olympics at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on Feb. 8, 2022. (Yonhap)

(Olympics) S Korea-1st medal

(Olympics) Speed skater Kim Min-seok wins men's 1,500m bronze for S. Korea's 1st medal in Beijing

By Yoo Jee-ho

BEIJING, Feb. 8 (Yonhap) -- Speed skater Kim Min-seok brought South Korea its first medal of Beijing 2022 on Tuesday, grabbing bronze for his second consecutive Olympics.

Kim finished the men's 1,500m race at the National Speed Skating Oval in 1:44.24, 1.03 seconds back of the champion, Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands.

Another Dutch skater, Thomas Krol, took the silver medal in 1:43.55.

At PyeongChang 2018, Kim also captured the bronze medal to become the first Asian to reach the Olympic podium in the men's 1,500m.

Kim could add another medal in the men's team pursuit, scheduled to begin with the quarterfinals Sunday and then the final next Tuesday. Kim, Lee Seung-hoon and Chung Jae-won combined for silver in 2018, and they're back for another go in Beijing.

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