Bobsledders ready to roll amid elevating expectations
By Baek Byung-yeul
Bobsleighing is a minority sport in Korea, but Won Yun-jong and Co. will be looking to change that on Monday.
While Korean men and women are competing in all bobsledding events in Sochi, their best shot at respect seems to be the men’s two-man event on Monday.
The pair of Won, 29, and Seo Young-woo, 23, displayed peak form ahead of the Olympics, winning consecutive gold medals in North America’s Cup competitions in Lake Placid, New York, in January. Kim Dong-hyun, 27, and Jung Jung-lin, 25, are the other Korean pair in Sochi and both teams are aiming for a top-15 finish at the Sanki Sliding Center.
While their improved performances in previous months have elevated the expectations for Korean bobsledders, their coach, Lee Yong, seemed determined not to put too much pressure on his pupils.
The Korean sledders’ unfamiliarity with the track could also prove to be a disadvantage as they had arrived later than their competitors in Sochi, competing in international events right up to the Olympics to acquire enough points to qualify.
Lee was economic in his comments about the ability of his sledders and spent more time raising concerns about how Sochi’s generous winter weather could affect ice conditions.
``Bobsledding is a sport where weather frequently becomes a factor, so yes, I am concerned about the conditions,’’ Lee said.
``However, that doesn’t change our approach. We don’t change gears because we are always trying to be the fastest we can. We approach every race the same and nothing will change for Monday.’’
Olympic bobsledding competitions comprise of two-man, four-man and two-woman competitions. All events feature four runs of the 1.5-kilometer course and the fastest 20 crews in the field of 30 qualify for the final run, where the team with the lowest aggregate time wins.
Korea had failed to send bobsledding athletes to the Olympics before the 2010 Games in Vancouver, where Kang Kwang-bae, Lee Jin-hee, Kim Jung-su and Kim Dong-hyun finished 19th in the men’s teams of four event.
However, the performance of Korean athletes has rapidly improved in the last couple of years. It was in March last year when the team of Won and Jung topped the two-man race in a North America Cup event to bring home the country’s first gold medal in an international event.
Korea has since won five more golds, not bad for a country that has yet to build its first bobsledding chute, and Won was involved in all of them.
While his goal in Sochi is to make it to the top-15 in the two-man event, Won expects to continue to compete until the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, and hopes to be a medal hopeful by then.