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Last chance for gold

February 20, 2014

Lee Seung-hoon competes in the men’s 10,000-meter speed skating event at the Adler Arena Skating Center in Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 18. He, along with teammates Kim Cheol-min and Joo Hyong-jun, will compete in the men’s team pursuit in attempt to redeem himself for failing to medal in the
5,000-meter and 10,000-meter events. (Yonhap)

By Kwon Ji-youn

The Sochi Olympics has given rise to some of the biggest upsets in winter sports.

Snowboarding megastar Shaun White failed to medal in men’s halfpipe as did American skater Shani Davis, and Russia crashed out of the men’s hockey tournament, losing 3-1 to Finland despite the overwhelming presence of Russian great Alex Ovechkin.

Dutch speed skater Sven Kramer had to settle for silver in the 10,000-meters, and Asada Mao of Japan dropped to an all-time low in the figure skating short program on Thursday (KST).

But this just means anything’s possible.

On Friday, speed skaters Lee Seung-hoon, Kim Cheol-min and Joo Hyong-jun will take part in the men’s team pursuit, in which Lee will attempt to redeem himself for failing to medal in the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter events.

Lee traveled to Sochi as a contender for the podium in both events, but on the very first day he placed a somewhat surprising 12th in the 5,000-meter, finishing 14.85 seconds behind Kramer, who took the gold. In the 10,000-meter, he placed fourth while the Dutch swept the podium once more.

But Lee has assured the public that he won’t fail a third time.

“The team pursuit is the event that we are most confident in and that is most fun,” he said. “I was in better condition for the 10,000-meter than the 5,000-meter. I’m sure I will be able to perform even better in the team pursuit.”

The team pursuit is an event in which the objective is to overtake skaters of the other teams, or cross the finish line faster. Three skaters from two countries begin at opposing ends of the rink and take off at the same time, aiming to pass the skaters of the opposing team. Men complete eight laps and women six. All three skaters take turns leading the group, and final times are measured when the third and last skater crosses the finish line.

Lee has stressed that while the Dutch are heavy favorites to win, Korea does not lag too far behind. In fact, at the Speed Skating World Cup events, Team Korea won two bronze medals and one silver. In the third event in Berlin, Germany, the team crossed the finish line only 0.46 seconds behind Douwe de Vries, Jan Blokhuijsen and Jorrit Bergsma of the Netherlands. Bergsma was the gold-medalist in the 10,000-meter event at Sochi. In standings, Korea ranked second, ahead of the United States.

“The odds of our team defeating the Dutch in the team pursuit are higher than the odds of me beating Kramer in the other events,” Lee said. “We’re hoping to make this the biggest upset at Sochi.”

Team Korea’s strengths lie in the fact that all three of them were once short-track speed skaters.

“We know how to chase the leader,” Lee said.

The women’s team of Noh Seon Yeong, Kim Bo-reum and Yang Shin-young will also take part in the team pursuit quarterfinal. Kim withdrew from the 5,000-meter race to focus on the team pursuit.

The men’s race will begin at 10:30 p.m., and women’s race at 11:23 p.m.

Skaters’ last chance for gold

Saturday represents Korea’s last chance at a medal, perhaps gold, in short-track speed skating. Park Se-yeong and Lee Han-bin qualified for the men’s 500-meter quarterfinal, Tuesday, but neither are contenders for the podium. Korea’s greatest hope is in 17-year-old prodigy Shim Suk-hee, who will attempt to score her second gold medal at this year’s games, after snagging one in the 3,000-meter relay.

No.1-seeded Shim placed first in three of four 1,000-meter events at this season’s Short-track Speed Skating World Cup and hopes to bring home what may become the country’s last gold.

She also placed first in her heat in the qualification round on Tuesday, finishing in one minute and 31.046 seconds. Compatriots Kim A-lang and Park Seung-hi also qualified for the quarterfinal first in their respective heats.

As long as Shim performs the way she did in the 3,000-meter relay, it seems Korea will succeed in bringing home a medal more in the sport that has granted the country a staggering 19 gold medals, from the 2002 Albertville Games to the 2010 Vancouver Games.