Korean Air to set up mens speed skating team

Korean Air announced Monday it will start a male speed skating team next month with two Olympic gold medalists as founding members.

In a press release, Korean Air said it will launch the team following the World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships in Germany in March. Lee Seung-hoon, the Vancouver Olympic gold medalist in men's 10,000 meters, and Mo Tae-bum, the men's 500-meter champion in Vancouver, will be the inaugural members of the team.

Korean Air is the first private company to run a semi-professional speed skating team. Currently, only local authorities, such as the Seoul Metropolitan Government, operate skating squads.

Kwon Soon-chun, head coach of the national team reserves, will take on Lee and Mo, Korean Air said.

"We decided to form the speed skating team to continue the sport's success from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and to contribute to the development of Korean winter sports," the company said in the statement. "We'd also like to support bidding efforts by PyeongChang to host the 2018 Winter Olympics."

PyeongChang, an alpine resort about 180 kilometers east of Seoul, is in its third straight bid to bring the country its first-ever Winter Games. Cho Yang-ho, the chairman of Hanjin Group, of which Korean Air is an affiliate, serves as the head of the PyeongChang bidding committee.

While South Korea is a perennial short-track skating powerhouse, the country won its first Winter Olympic speed skating titles in Vancouver. Aside from Lee and Mo, Lee Sang-hwa was the women's 500m gold medalist. Lee was a triple gold medalist at the Asian Winter Games in Kazakhstan earlier this month. (Yonhap)

대한항공, 스피드스케이팅 실업팀 창단

대한항공이 올림픽 금메달리스트 2명을 창단멤버로 하여 스피드스케이팅 팀을 창단한다고 28일 발표했다.

대한항공은 3월 독일에서 열리는 세계 종목별 선수권대회가 끝난 뒤 정식으로 창단식을 열 예정이라고 밝혔다. 창단멤버는 밴쿠버 동계올림픽 남자 10,000m 금메달리스트 이승훈과 500m 금메달리스트 모태범 이다.

대한항공은 국내 기업 가운데 최초로 남자 스피드스케이팅 팀을 창단하는 기업이다. 현재 서울시청을 비롯한 지방자치단체에서만 스케이팅 팀을 운영하고 있다.

이들을 지도할 코치로는 현 국가대표 상비군을 담당하는 권순천코치가 맡을 예정이다.