Speed skater begins looking ahead to 4th Olympics after another missed opportunity

Korea's Kim Min-sun competes in the women's 500-meter speed skating race at the Winter Olympics in the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, Sunday. Yonhap

MILAN — Only minutes after ending her third Winter Games appearance in disappointment on Sunday in northern Italy, speed skater Kim Min-sun already started looking ahead to the next Olympics in 2030.

The third time didn't end up being the charm for the 26-year-old South Korean, who finished in 14th place in the women's 500 meters with a time of 38.01 seconds at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium in Milan. It was her second-slowest time of this season.

She had been hoping to get that elusive Olympic medal this time, after ending up in 16th place in her Olympic debut at PyeongChang 2018 and improving to seventh place four years later in Beijing.

"I don't even know where to start. I am really disappointed," Kim said while fighting back tears. "Preparing for the Olympics is difficult enough when you have 100 percent confidence in yourself. But there were times when I only made things tough on myself, but I have to accept that as my shortcoming as an athlete. I think I have to start working for the next Olympics right away."

Kim admitted it was "a bit strange" to be talking about the next Olympics so soon after the end of her current one, but she also noted how fast the four years went by between Beijing and Milan.

"Although I wasn't able to get the last laugh here, the past four years have been like a gift for me," Kim said. "I am grateful for these four years, and I want to train hard over the next four years, too."

Kim said her slow start over the first 100m held her back once again. She clocked 10.61 seconds, 21st out of 29 skaters in action.

"I learned so much from my past Olympics, and I had some pretty good results in the years after the Beijing Olympics," Kim said. "I felt I could really skate well here, but I think there were still some things that I missed. I might have tried to do too much at times, but that's also part of my learning experience."

Despite the crushing loss, Kim still tried to find some silver lining. Femke Kok of the Netherlands won the gold medal Sunday with an Olympic record time of 36.49 seconds, and Kim noted she has beaten Kok in the past.

"Those skaters weren't that far ahead of me at the start of our careers, and this gives me confidence that I can get to where they are," Kim said. "On the other hand, I also wonder what someone like Kok has done differently to improve her records so much. It pushes me to work even harder."

As much as Kim wants to get back to work right away, she also wants to spend some meaningful time with the most important people in her life.

"The race is over, and I can't blame anyone but myself," she said. "I just want to be around people that mean so much to me."