1st gold for Korea from men's short track
Lim Hyo-jun, left, and Hwang Dae-heon of South Korea race in the men's 1,500-meter short track speed skating final at Gangneung Ice Arena, Feb.10./ Yonhap
By Ko Dong-hwan, Nam Hyun-woo
Korea’s Lim Hyo-jun became the country’s first gold medalist at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics by winning the men’s 1,500m short track speed skating final.
Lim took to the top of the podium after completing his race in 2:10.485, an Olympic record. This was also the first gold medal from men’s short track skating for Korea in eight years.
Lim sprinted ahead with eight laps to go, vying for the lead with compatriot Hwang Dae-heon and Sjinkie Knegt from the Netherlands. However, Hwang fell during the highly-competitive race, while Lim forged ahead with three laps to go, crossing the finish line just 0.07 seconds ahead of Knegt.
“This is truly unbelievable,” Lim said. “Though I stood on the podium, it was all because of the team effort and it bears extra meaning because it is the first medal for Korea.”
“I picked up confidence during the heats races. I told the coach ‘I may make a surprise tonight’ and actually did it.”
Prior to bringing gold to the host nation, Lim’s career has been turbulent with him undergoing seven operations due to injuries.
He started to gain attention at International Skating Union World Cup last year and ranked No. 1 in the national team tryouts for the Games, beating several mainstays such as Lee Jung-su, a double gold medalist at the 2010 Winter Games.
Lim was originally a swimmer, but switched to short track after suffering from ear problems.
Semen Elistratov of the Olympic Athletes from Russia collected the bronze medal.