S. Korea misses podium in short track mixed team relay

Kim Gil-li of Korea, top, is tripped up by Corinne Stoddard of the United States during the semifinals of the mixed team relay in short track speed skating at the Winter Olympics at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, Feb. 10. Yonhap

MILAN — Korea failed to reach the podium in the mixed relay in short track speed skating at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Tuesday.

The quartet of Choi Min-jeong, Kim Gil-li, Rim Jong-un and Hwang Dae-heon finished third in their group in the semifinals at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, with only the top two nations from the two groups progressing to the final.

With six laps remaining in this 18-lap, 2,000-meter race, Kim got tripped up by Corinne Stoddard of the United States, who lost her balance and fell after briefly moving out in front. Korea was in third place at the time behind the U.S. and Canada.

Korea crossed the line in third place and settled for the consolation "B" final.

A Korean team official lodged an on-site protest with officials, asking for an "advancement" for Korea due to a U.S. penalty, but the final results did not change.

The referee of the given race may choose to push a skater or a team through to the next round when a skater who was in a strong position is fouled or blocked by another skater.

However, a skater or a team must have been in at least second place at the time of any foul or rules violation by an opponent. With Kim in third place when she crashed into Stoddard, Korea accepted the final decision.

According to a team official, Kim was "a little sore" but should have no problem skating in upcoming races.

Canada and Belgium made it out of Korea's group, and Italy and China advanced to the final from the other group.

In the "A" final, Italy held off Canada for the gold medal in front of a delighted home crowd, while Belgium got the bronze medal. The Netherlands won the B final over Korea, France and the United States.

The mixed relay, featuring two female and two male skaters per team, made its Olympic debut in 2022 in Beijing. Korea crashed out of the quarterfinals then and failed to get its redemption this year.

This was the first day of the short track competition in Milan. It will continue Thursday with the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals in the women's 500m and the men's 1,000m.