short track-Olympics
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| ▲ In this file photo from Jan. 5, 2022, South Korean short track speed skater Choi Min-jeong trains at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, some 90 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ In this file photo from Jan. 5, 2022, South Korean short track speed skater Hwang Dae-heon trains at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, some 90 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ In this file photo from Jan. 5, 2022, South Korean short track speed skaters Kim A-lang (L) and Kwak Yoon-gy chat during a training session at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, some 90 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap) |
short track-Olympics
S. Korean women's short track team to miss top qualifiers to suspension, injury
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean women's short track speed skating team will be without two of its top three qualifiers at the Beijing Winter Olympics next month.
The Korea Skating Union (KSU) finalized the national men's and women's entries for Beijing 2022 on Thursday night. South Korea has been the most successful country in Olympic short track history with 24 gold medals and will look to add to that total with a depleted women's team.
The five skaters representing the women's team will be Choi Min-jeong, Lee Yu-bin, Kim A-lang, Seo Whi-min and Park Ji-yun.
The first three on the list will be eligible for all individual races and relays, while the last two names will only be eligible for relays.
Choi, a double gold medalist at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, finished second in the Olympic trials in May last year. But Shim Suk-hee, who won the trials, is not eligible for the Feb. 4-20 Beijing Olympics after the KSU suspended her for two months on Dec. 21 for an off-ice controversy. Kim Ji-yoo, who ranked third in the trials, has been ruled out with an ankle injury.
Shim was banned for making disparaging comments on her teammates and coaches during PyeongChang 2018, the contents of which were reported through leaked text messages last October. Shim lost her bid for a court injunction against the ban Tuesday and decided not to appeal the ruling.
Kim broke her right ankle during the third leg of the International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup in Hungary in November. Kim had metal pins inserted into the ankle and resumed training last week, but the KSU concluded that she hadn't reached a point in her recovery where she could skate competitively at the Olympics.
A KSU official said the national governing body reviewed reports from two hospitals and national team medical staff before leaving Kim off the team.
The men's team, on the other hand, will feature the top-five qualifiers from the Olympic trials.
Hwang Dae-heon, the 2018 Olympic silver medalist in the 500m, will lead the way, joined by Lee June-seo, Park Jang-hyuk, Kwak Yoon-gy and Kim Dong-wook.
Hwang was the only South Korean man to have won an individual gold in this past World Cup season. He grabbed two titles in the 1,000m and another in the 500m.
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