Half the nation sees Choi Min-jeong win gold
Choi Min-jeong of South Korea crosses the finish line to claim her first Olympic gold in the women’s 1,500-meter relay final at Gangneung Oval on Saturday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
By Kim Hyun-bin
Close to half of the nation watched Choi Min-jeong, one of the most prominent stars of the Winter Games win her first gold in the 1,500 meter relay final on Saturday.
Choi was fastest of the seven skaters, crossing the finish line in 2:24.948, well ahead of China’s Li Jinyu and Canada’s Kim Boutin.
It was the first time in 12 years that a South Korean female skater has won gold in the event.
Choi skated at the back for the first 11 laps, and turned on the gas for her last two laps.
With Choi’s victory, Team Korea has won three gold medals, two in short track and one in skeleton.
Choi has been a dominant skater, topping the women’s 500, 1000, 1500 meter rankings, according to International Skating Union rankings.
She was also an inch away from winning silver in the women’s 500 meters earlier this week, but was disqualified for impeding.
Choi had touched the knee of Canada’s Kim Boutin with just two laps to go and was penalized for impeding, which refers to pushing, blocking, tripping or other actions that hamper other skaters.
There were three contacts between Choi and Boutin, but the other two that would probably have found Boutin at fault were not considered.
The ruling angered many Koreans, which might have contributed to the high viewer ratings during Choi’s 1,500-meter final. Close to half the nation was cheering for her from the comfort of their living rooms.
According to ATAM, which specializes in television viewer ratings, 45.9 percent of viewers were watching the 1,500 meter final from 9:14 p.m. to 9:17 p.m. via three major broadcasting stations.
SBS TV had the most viewers with 18.87 percent, followed by KBS 2TV (14.95 percent) and MBC TV with 12.08 percent.
“It’s not just my ability but rather because of the cheering from the nation (that brought the gold),” said Choi.
“Our team and the skating federation, as well as other entities and fans, gave enough support to bring in the results.”
Choi had a special message for her family members who were unable to go on vacation because of Olympic preparations.
“Mom I won gold! Let’s take a family vacation,” said Choi.
Choi is aiming for a triple crown, with her eye on gold in the women’s 3,000 meter relay on Feb. 20 and the 1,000 meter event on Feb. 22. Jin Sun-yu won the last triple crown at the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics.