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| South Korean speed skater Kim Min-seok competes during the Men's Speed Skating 1500m event at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, Beijing, China, Tuesday. Yonhap |
In the days leading up to the Beijing Winter Olympics, South Korean speed skater Kim Min-seok spoke often about how much better he had become since snatching two medals at PyeongChang 2018 ― bronze in the 1,500m and silver in the team pursuit.
And on Tuesday in the Chinese capital, Kim proved he wasn't just talking the talk. With his second consecutive bronze medal in the 1,500m ― long the domain of European and North American athletes ― the 22-year-old walked the walk.
Kim covered his 1,500m at the National Speed Skating Oval in 1:44.24, finishing 1.03 seconds behind the gold medalist, Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands. Thomas Krol, also from the Netherlands, got the silver in 1:43.55.
"I felt that as long as I skated with confidence, I would post a great time," Kim said. "I gave it everything I had. The two skaters ahead of me were just that much better. I have no regrets about my performance."
Before Kim in PyeongChang, no Asian skater had won a medal in the 1,500m. The South Korean is now the only Asian to win back-to-back medals in this distance.
Kim said he doesn't make much of being the first Asian in anything in his sport. He wants to accomplish even bigger things.
"I know I've improved, but other skaters have gotten faster, too," Kim said. "I will keep trying so that I can become an Olympic champion four years later."
Kim's recent form had been very solid. He was the only South Korean speed skater to win a medal during this past International Skating Union World Cup season. He was the 1,500m champion in the first leg and then added a bronze in the same distance at the following event. He finished seventh in the 1,500m World Cup standings.
But none of the top six skaters in the World Cup rankings ended up ahead of Kim in the Olympics.
In speed skating, athletes race in pairs. Kim was in the 11th pair out of 15, alongside Nuis, the 2018 Olympic champion and world record holder.
In the pair right before them, Thomas Krol had set an Olympic record with 1:43.55. Nuis bettered that, and Kim more than held his own against the Dutch veteran.
Kim's bronze medal-winning time this year was 0.69 second faster than his time from PyeongChang.
This bronze was also the very first medal for South Korea at Beijing 2022, coming on the fourth day of competition following Friday's opening ceremony.
Kim watched as one medal hopeful after another in other sports fall by the wayside. The short track speed skating team has been shut out of medals after multiple falls and judging controversy over two days' worth of races. Earlier Tuesday, alpine snowboarder Lee Sang-ho, who'd been expected to bring home the first gold, was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the men's parallel giant slalom event.
All eyes turned to Kim, though the soft-spoken skater wasn't fazed by the weight of expectations.
"I didn't think I'd be the first medal for the country, because short track and snowboard events all took place before my race," Kim said. "Hopefully, my medal will help fuel athletes in other sports. I'd love to see them start winning medals, too." (Yonhap)
