Mature athletes write their own Olympic dramas

Japanese skater Kodaira Nao, left, consoles Lee Sang-hwa, two-time Olympic gold medalist, after Lee finished second in the women's 500-meter speed skating race at the Gangneung Oval. / Yonhap

By Kang Hyun-kyung

There are parallels between nature and the post-competition scenes of the women's 500-meter speed skating and the men's skeleton.

The winners were underdogs who rose to new heights in the lead-up to the Olympics.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Lee Sang-hwa faced a formidable challenge from Japan's rising star Kodaira Nao, who dominated women's 500-meter speed skating in 2016 and 2017.

Lee, the world record holder, admitted she felt immense pressure from the rising Japanese skater. Three-time Olympian Kodaira clinched an Olympic gold medal. In the previous two Olympics, Kodaira was not considered a serious rival.

The Japanese skater finished fifth at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and 12th at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Lee won back-to-back gold medals there.

Skeleton gold medalist Yun Sung-bin soared ahead of the Olympics. Like Kodaira, he dominated the men's skeleton race at the 2016 and 2017 World Cups and ranked first in the world last year.

Martin Dukurs was champion in Skeleton World Cups and his heyday continued for a decade. But the Latvian was called the "crownless emperor" because he had not won any Olympic medals.

Women's 500-meter speed skating and men's skeleton were similar in that the races boiled down to a contest between the rising underdogs and the defending champion.

The results showed the rising underdogs were unstoppable.

The winners were mature, another similarity in the two events.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Yun said his happiness at winning gold was short-lived because he felt for his hero in despair. He said his heart was wrenching while watching his frustrated hero after the race. Dukurs finished fourth.

Yun said he was eager to beat his hero, but the joy of triumph did not last long because he knew how hard it would be for Dukurs to accept the result.

Kodaira is a mature Olympian, too.

She proved the Olympics go far beyond competition for medals. They are also about friendship, a human story loftier than a medal race.

Defending champion Lee, 29, burst into tears as soon as she realized she had lost her record to Kodaira, 31, of Japan who set a new Olympic record with a time of 36.94 seconds. Lee finished second.

Lee's tears did not stop, even though the crowd chanted her name to cheer her up and showed their unwavering support, regardless of the results.

Watching her rival crying, Kodaira embraced and consoled the crying two-time Olympic gold medalist, who was in despair.

In a media interview, the Japanese said she told the Korean skater she still respected her very much.

The Japanese skater's maturity impressed the crowd at the oval there to watch what the Korean media called "the competition of the century" on ice.

As Kodaira finished heat 14 in Olympic record time, Japanese fans were roaring. Instead of celebrating her long-awaited feat, Kodaira placed a finger on her lips to encourage the crowd to calm down.

Her rival Lee Sang-hwa was to skate next and the Japanese skater's gesture indicated she did not want to put extra pressure on the Korean.

Lee admitted that as a defending champion, she had been under immense pressure throughout her preparation for the Olympics on her home soil.

She posted a photo featuring her and Kodaira wearing Olympic ring glasses.

"I worked hard all along and it was a long painstaking journey," Lee's message read. "I'm satisfied with what I achieved in the race, although I finished second. Thanks fans for cheering for me. It was really encouraging."

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