Bobsleigh duo - 1st Asians to win World Cup
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South Koreans Won Yun-jong, right, and Seo Young-woo cheer after winning the bobsleigh World Cup on Saturday in the season’s concluding event in Konigssee. AFP-Yonhap
By Baek Byung-yeul
Korea’s prospects of success at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games have brightened after the country’s bobsleigh and skeleton competitors delivered eye-catching results at the World Cup this weekend.
At the final International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup event in Konigssee, Germany, Sunday (KST), the Korean bobsleigh team of Won Yun-jong, 31, and Seo Young-woo, 25, clinched a gold medal with a combined time of 1:39.50 after two runs in the two-man race ― the first Asian racers to win the World Cup overall title. The Korean duo was followed by Beat Hefti and Alex Baumann of Switzerland who were edged out by 0.05sec. Friedrich Francesco and Bauer Candy of Germany were third with 1:39.65.
The IBSF World Cup is comprised of eight competitions over a season. The gold was the duo’s second, following their gold in the fifth tournament of the 2015-2016 season at Whistler, Canada, in January.
Including the gold in Germany, the Korean duo earned two gold and three bronze medals in eight tournaments, claiming world No. 1 spot with 1,562 points in the two-man bobsleigh World Cup rankings. Won, the team’s pilot, also was top pilot with 1578 points.
“This season will be the unforgettable one. I thank everyone who has been supporting us and our staff,” the Korea Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation quoted Won as saying. “After finishing sixth here last time, we tried to correct our weaknesses.”
Although Won and Seo finished 18th at the 2014 Winter Games, they are now considered strong contenders for a bobsleigh medal when Korea hosts the 2018 Olympics.
“With the PyeongChang Olympics just over two years away, I think we can get a good result there if we keep practicing to improve our starting technique more,” Won said.
Yun ranked world No. 2 in skeleton
Before the bobsleigh event, Korean Yun Sung-bin, 22, finished second in the men’s skeleton race with a combined 1:41.38 points after two runs, following Martins Dukurs of Latvia on 1:40.82. Martins’ brother, Tomass, finished third with 1:41.56.
Overall, Yun earned one gold, three silver and two bronze medals this season, becoming the world No. 2 with 1,575 points in World Cup standings.
Given that it is only three years and seven months since his senior high school year, Yun is also considered a 2018 PyeongChang medal hope. He finished 16th at the 2014 Sochi Games.