Surging bobsleigh team eyes 'perfect race' at Olympics
Members of the Korean men's bobsleigh national team pose after arriving at Incheon International Airport, Tuesday. Yonhap
Korean bobsleigh pilot Kim Jin-su led his four-man team to a World Cup bronze medal in November on the same Italian track that will stage the Winter Olympics next year. Kim and his teammates are now hoping they haven't peaked too early.
Kim, pushmen Kim Sun-wook and Kim Hyeong-geun, and brakeman Lee Geon-u finished in the four-man competition at the first International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup of the season in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, on Nov. 23. It was Korea's first World Cup podium finish in the four-man bobsleigh event.
"We were elated when we won that bronze medal in Cortina d'Ampezzo, but we also wished that competition were the Olympics," Kim told reporters Tuesday at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, after returning home for a break in the World Cup season. "We won't be content with this World Cup bronze. We will keep addressing our shortcomings and try to put on a perfect race at the Olympics."
Follow-up performances by Kim's team showed the quartet will have plenty of work to do leading up to the Olympics. After Italy, Kim's four-man team had finishes of seventh place, sixth place and 14th place over the next three World Cup races.
A German team piloted by Johannes Lochner has won three of the four World Cup events so far, while another German team, led by Francesco Friedrich, has one victory and three other podium finishes.
A third German squad, with Adam Ammour as the pilot, has put together four straight top-five finishes, including a bronze medal and a silver medal at each of the past two events.
As much as he would like to have done better at other World Cup stops, Kim said his focus remains on mastering the Cortina d'Ampezzo track.
"It's a challenging track," he said. "Some parts may seem easy but are actually difficult, and vice versa in some other areas."
Kim Hyeong-geun, one of the two pushmen, said he and his teammates have made major strides with their starts but they have not yet reached their top form.
"At the Olympics, we will try to have even faster starts than those three German teams," he added.
To that end, the bobsledders plan to hit the weight room even during their Christmas break.
"I am supposed to do some weight training on Christmas Eve," Kim Jin-su said. "Even during the World Cup break, I won't be taking much time off."
Kim Hyeong-geun added with a smile: "Since I am competing with Jin-su on the same team, I have to keep up with the weight training. I am going to be in the gym not just on Christmas Eve, but on Christmas, too."