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| South Korean short track legend Chun Lee-kyung, right, currently Singapore's national team coach, and Cheyenne Goh, the first ever short-track speed skater from Southeast Asia to qualify for the Winter Olympics. / Courtesy of Chun Lee-kyung |
Chun will join PyeongChang as Singapore national team coach
By Kim Jae-kyoung
SINGAPORE ― South Korean short track legend Chun Lee-kyung returns to the Olympics after 20 years.
This time, she will set a new record not for South Korea but for Singapore and Southeast Asia. She will participate in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games as a coach of the one-woman Singapore national team.
Singaporean female short-track speed skater Cheyenne Goh, coached by Chun, earned a spot in the 1,500m event for the Winter Games in early November and will race in the 1,500m scheduled for Feb 12 at the Gangneung Ice Arena.
The 18-year-old will be the first Singaporean to compete at the Winter Games. Also, she will be the first short track speed skater to participate in the Winter Games from Southeast Asia.
"I feel very thrilled."
This is the very first word Chun said with a big smile in an interview held at The Rink@JCube in western Singapore on Jan. 6, two days before she left for South Korea with Goh for final preparations ahead of the Feb 9-25 Games.
"This reminds me of old memories. I was expected to join the Olympics as a commentator but never expected to go to PyeongChang (as a coach)," she said.
At the Audi ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating events in Shanghai in November, Goh came in second in Group 7 as her leading competitors crashed into one another. As a result, she advanced to the semi-final and is ranked 36th in the ISU ranking to luckily secure the last spot for PyeongChang.
"It will be the first time in 20 years for me to enter an Olympic village," she added. "I am already fluttered."
Chun was one of the most dominant short trackers. The 42-year-old won four Olympic gold medals _ two each in 1994 and 1998 ― and nine world championship titles.
‘Sports can boost ASEAN-Korea cooperation'
Chun believes that Singapore's first-ever participation in the Winter Olympics will not only boost the popularity of winter sports in Southeast Asia but also provide the impetus for cooperation between Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
"I'm glad that I'm here in Singapore at this moment. Goh's outing in PyeongChang comes at a time when President Moon Jae-in is pushing for his plan to expand cooperation with Southeast Asia," Chun said.
During his state visit to Jakarta on Nov. 9, Moon unveiled his Southern Policy aimed at elevating Korea's relationship with the ASEAN to the level of its relations with the four major powers around the Korean peninsula.
"Sports cannot be the main part in exchanges between nations but it can play its own role by spicing up the exchanges," she said. "So I think it would be a good idea to use sports as a catalyst for bolstering bilateral cooperation."
In particular, the four-time Olympic champion is very upbeat on the outlook for exchanges with ASEAN nations in the short track event.
"There is the high possibility of South Korea expanding short track exchanges with ASEAN nations as they are showing keen interest," she said.
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"There has been a short-track boom following the 2017 Southeast Asian Games (SEA) in Malaysia, and I think Goh's participation in the PyeongChang Olympics will further increase people's attention and interest in the region," she added.
Goh earned two silvers and one bronze in the 2017 SEA Games.
"I hope that they now realize that in short track they can compete for Olympic finals once they have proper skating rinks that allow training opportunities."
Against a unified Korean team
Chun said what's interesting is that currently, most of the national teams in ASEAN are headed by Korean coaches.
"The short-track exchange is already underway but I believe that Singapore's achievement will further facilitate the exchanges because other nations might gain confidence that they can compete as Singapore did," she said. "So I expect these countries to invest more in fostering the short track event."
Regarding the possibility of forming a unified Korean team for the PyeongChang Olympics, the 42-year-old said she is opposed to the idea.
"I think it doesn't make sense. There is no reason why we have to try to form a unified team because it can affect our own players," she said.
She suggested that North Korea use the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s wild card system for participation.
She thinks that North Korea could receive wild cards from the IOC for several events, including short track.
"The IOC sets a quota for every event, and it allows some wild cards within the quota. Regarding the short track, I think there are two or three wild cards available," she said.
"Since North Korea's short track team is quite good, it's possible that the North will get those wild cards."
Q: Can you tell us about Singaporean short-track speed skater Cheyenne Goh? What is your goal in PyeongChang?
A: Frankly speaking, chances are very low that she will advance even to the second round because she is outclassed by her competitors. But she is working very hard after she qualified because the Olympics greatly motivates her. Goh will be an underdog at the PyeongChang Games but the preliminary round shows that anything can happen.
I believe this opportunity will make her realize how much more she needs to train, and this Olympics will be a turning point in her career because just being there may give her great experience. She used to be an ice hockey player and turned into a short track speed skater four years ago. She has power but she needs to learn more about how to use it and has to fix bad habits from ice hockey.
Q: How do you think Goh's participation in PyeongChang will change the landscape of winter sports in Singapore and other ASEAN nations?
A: I expect that Goh's outing in PyeongChang will make more Singaporeans and ASEAN people attracted to winter sports as well as short track skating. I believe that her qualification will be a turning point for people in this region to become keen on short track helping the sport win more support from the government.
Q: What brought you to Singapore? How did you become the coach for Team Singapore?
A: I came to Singapore in January, 2015 to take care of my two children who study here. One year later, I got an offer from the Singapore Ice Skating Association (SISA) to head Team Singapore after the former coach suddenly left the team. In Singapore, even national team players are trained only in the evening as the city state's education system focuses on study. That's why I accepted the offer. I work on one-year contracts but may continue to head the Singapore team as long as my children study here. I really enjoy finding and teaching young talent here.
Q: What are your plans for the future? Do you still want to become the first female Korean IOC member?
A: First of all, I would like to play a role in the booming winter sports in Singapore and Southeast Asia. Singapore is a rich country but its infrastructure for winter sports is still poor. There is only one ice rink that meets the international standard. What is more challenging is the high cost of training. The rental fee is around $800 per hour but it is not fully supported by the government. I hope that this PyeongChang Olympics will be a turning point for the Singaporean government to provide more support for winter sports.
I like to teach young children who learn skating first because I like to teach basic skills. One thing I can be sure of is that I will continue to be in the sports circle. But I am not interested in coaching Korea's national team because it requires a lot of time and effort. I get easily stressed out. Since the Korean national team is the world's best, it is going to be very intense and tough.
My motto is to "have a great dream" but I think my dream of becoming an IOC member slipped away from me when I got married. I would not say that I gave it up but it is true that it's quite away from me now. Still, I will give it a shot once I have a chance.
