The two-time Olympic speed skating champion Lee Sang-hwa may sit out an upcoming national competition to rest her ailing left knee, her management said Tuesday.
An official at Brion said Lee "has leaned toward" not racing at the National Winter Sports Festival, which kicks off Wednesday, though nothing has been officially determined and she may still lace up. She was scheduled to enter the 1,000 meters in the women's senior division Thursday and then the team pursuit Friday.
Lee, who has won the past two Olympic gold medals in the women's 500ｍ, also owns the world record in the distance at 36.36 seconds. She turns 26 on Wednesday.
"Lee's knee has been hurting, and she hasn't performed well of late," the company official said. "And after the end of the Sochi Winter Olympics, she may no longer have a clear sense of motivation. She might have decided it'd be better off to regroup (than to skate)."
Lee failed to reach the podium twice this month, which qualifies as a drought for the decorated skater who once reeled off seven straight Speed Skating World Cup victories and set three world records in an eight-day span.
On Feb. 7, in the first of two 500ｍ races at the sixth World Cup leg in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, Lee finished fifth. It was the first time she'd missed a World Cup podium in more than three years.
Lee bounced back the following day to finish second in the second 500ｍ race. But at the World Single Distance Championships held in the same city on Feb. 14, Lee ranked fifth overall after two 500ｍ races, missing out on a medal for the first time since 2008.
Lee skated through her knee pains in Sochi, where she became only the third woman to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the 500ｍ. Lee once considered going under the knife after the Olympics to have the knee drained, but instead chose to receive treatment on her knee while competing this season.
Her agency also insisted that surgery isn't an option at this point, with Lee hoping to skate at her fourth consecutive Winter Games in 2018 in PyeongChang, South Korea.
"If she has an operation, it may be difficult for her to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics, and it's out of the equation," the company official said. "With her focus primarily on rehabbing the knee, she will seek options in March."
Erik Bouwman, the national team coach, earlier said he didn't think Lee needed to have a surgery and attributed her pains to fatigue. (Yonhap)