Snowboarder Kim Sang-kyum wins stunning silver for Korea's 1st medal

Korean snowboarder Kim Sang-kyum celebrates after beating Tervel Zamfirov of Bulgaria in the semifinals of the men's parallel giant slalom event at the Winter Olympics at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 8. Yonhap

MILAN — Alpine snowboarder Kim Sang-kyum captured a shocking silver medal in the men's parallel giant slalom for South Korea's first medal at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday.

After winning his first two knockout races when his opponents failed to cross the finish line, Kim defeated Tervel Zamfirov of Bulgaria by 0.23 second in the semifinals before losing to Benjamin Karl of Austria by 0.19 second in the final at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, some 230 kilometers north of Milan.

Kim, 37, became just the second South Korean to win an Olympic snowboarding medal, joining the 2018 parallel giant slalom silver medalist Lee Sang-ho.

Lee lost to Andreas Prommegger of Austria by 0.17 second in the round of 16 on Sunday.