(Olympics) Speed skater captures 2nd straight silver; curling team enjoys 2nd straight win

▲ Cha Min-kyu of South Korea competes in the men's 500m speed skating race at the Beijing Winter Olympics at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on Feb. 12, 2022. (Yonhap)

▲ Cha Min-kyu of South Korea poses for photos during the victory ceremony after winning silver in the men's 500m speed skating race at the Beijing Winter Olympics at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on Feb. 12, 2022. (Yonhap)

▲ Kim Seon-yeong (L) and Kim Kyeong-ae of South Korea sweep the ice during a women's curling round-robin game against the Russian Olympic Committee at the Beijing Winter Olympics at the National Aquatics Centre in Beijing on Feb. 12, 2022. (Yonhap)

(Olympics) S Korea recap-Day 8

(Olympics) Speed skater captures 2nd straight silver; curling team enjoys 2nd straight win

By Yoo Jee-ho

BEIJING, Feb. 12 (Yonhap) -- Speed skater Cha Min-kyu gave South Korea its second medal at the oval and its fourth medal overall at Beijing 2022 on Saturday, as he earned silver in the men's 500m.

With a time of 34.39 seconds at the National Speed Skating Oval, Cha finished only 0.07 back of the champion, Gao Tingyu of China. Wataru Morishige of Japan took the bronze in 34.49.

Cha's medal raises South Korea's total in Beijing to one gold, two silver and one bronze. All four medals have come from the ice -- a gold and a silver in short track speed skating, and a silver and a bronze in the long track event.

There are still a handful of speed skating races left for South Korea, with Cha also set to compete in the men's 1,000m on Friday, alongside the 1,500m bronze medalist, Kim Min-seok. In short track, South Korea has four events remaining.

Also on Saturday in the women's curling tournament, South Korea picked up its second straight victory by beating the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) 9-5.

South Korea improved to 2-1 in the round-robin stage at the National Aquatics Centre. Team Kim has six more round-robin games left. After the 10 teams each play nine games, the top four will qualify for the semifinals.

Next up for South Korea, the 2018 silver medalist, is China on Sunday.

In biathlon, the Russian-born South Korean Timofei Lapshin finished 82nd among 94 competitors in the men's 10km sprint.

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