Speed skating world championships in Seoul may lose steam

Korean speed skaters practice, Wednesday, for the International Skating Union (ISU) World Sprint Speed Skating Championships which will be held at the Taereung International Skating Rink in northeastern Seoul, Saturday and Sunday. From left are Kim Hyun-yung, Kim Jin-su, Park Seung-hi, Kim Tae-yun and Kim Min-sun. / Yonhap

Two Korean Olympic champions to miss the event

By Baek Byung-yeul, Park Jin-hai

As 32 speed skaters from 18 countries will vie to be the world’s fastest sprinter on ice at the speed skating world championships in Seoul this weekend, the event may lose steam with Korea’s two Olympic champions absent.

At the International Skating Union (ISU) World Sprint Speed Skating Championships at Taereung International Skating Rink in northeastern Seoul, Saturday and Sunday, Korea will miss two-time Olympic champion Lee Sang-hwa in the women’s race and 2010 Winter Games gold medalist Mo Tae-bum in the men’s race.

Lee, the current world record holder in the 500-meter race at 36.36 seconds, will not participate at the Seoul competition as she lost her national team eligibility after sitting out a national sprint competition in December. The Korea Skating Union changed its rule about missing an event last fall.

Lee’s absence at this event is because the Korea Skating Union (KSU) decided not to send an athlete to an international competition who doesn’t compete in a national sprint competition. Lee claimed she had been unaware of the modified KSU rule though the latter argued that it informed her coach and her agency several times about the changed statute. Lee won this competition in 2010 and was ranked third in the 2013 event.

As Lee won’t be competing at the Seoul event, a Chinese team coach anticipates that his team’s Zhang Hong will likely be the winner this weekend.

“It is kind of shocking for us to miss Lee in Korea competition,” the Chinese coach who refused to be named said at the Taereung International Skating Rink, Wednesday. “If Lee won’t compete in the Seoul event, Zhang, who’s considered her biggest competitor, will be favored to win.” Zhang, gold medalist at the 2014 Winter Olympics 1,000-meter event, is the ISU World Cup points leader in the 500-meter this season.

Vancouver Olympics gold medalist Mo will also miss the Seoul event due to back pain. The KSU announced Mo’s absence on Tuesday, saying he stopped practicing due to the sudden injury this week though he had been fine last week. At this event, Mo placed second in 2011 and third in 2012.

In the men’s race, Russia’s Pavel Kulizhnikov, a world record holder in the men’s 500-meter, and Olympic gold medalist and 1,000-meter world record holder Shani Davis of the United States will compete in the event.

The speed skating premier sprint competition has skaters racing one 500-meter and one 1,000-meter race each day. The times of those four races are then converted to points, and the skaters will be ranked accordingly.

Instead of the two medalists, Korea will feature five promising skaters _ Kim Tae-yun and Kim Jin-su in the men’s races and Kim Min-sun, Kim Hyun-yung and Park Seung-hi in the women’s races.

Kim Tae-yun, dubbed the next Mo Tae-bum, will lead the men’s sprint team. The 20-year-old who ranked sixth in the 500 meters at this year's world single distance championships, said his performance has improved recently.

“This season I am focused on my starts and power in my training and I feel this has helped me improve my performance,” Kim told reporters during a press conference Wednesday. “I still need more experience in international competitions to sharpen my competitiveness.”

Kim said his aim is to at least come in fifth in the all-around rankings through the competition this time.

Kim Min-sun, 15, who won the 2016 Youth Winter Olympics in the 500 meters, said she wants to follow in the footsteps of Lee Sang-hwa, a world record holder in the women's 500 meters and two-time Olympic gold medalist for that distance.

“I want to emulate Lee’s power. Lee is a great skater, holding the laurel of the world’s top speed skater for such a long time. By strengthening my power, I want to develop my potential through the competition.”

Along with Kim, the women's competition will have Park Seung-hi, the former Olympic short track champion who switched to speed skating in 2014, and Kim Hyun-yung, the former world junior champion in the in 500 meters.

Kwon Soon-chun, Korea’s speed skating team coach, said the skaters participating in the competition are all aspiring athletes who all have bright futures. “With just two years to go before the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, this event will be an opportunity for those young skaters to jack up their confidence and join the ranks of other world renowned skaters.”