Bobsledders defy odds to bring back bronze

The Korean bobsled team, (from left) Kang Gwang-bae, Kim Jung-su, Lee Jin-hee and Cho In-ho, won bronze in the four-man race at the America’s Cup in Salt Lake City, Utah. Provided by the team

Korea may have its own version of the movie “Cool Runnings” on its hands.
In the film, the members of the first Jamaican Olympic bobsled team overcome seemingly insurmountable odds ― including racing under snowy conditions they’d never experienced before ― in order to earn respect in the global athletic arena.
Like the Jamaican team, the South Korean national bobsled team had its share of hardships. Bobsledding is not a popular sport in Korea. Thus, the national team did not receive adequate financial support, forcing the team to borrow bobsleds from host organizations in competition.
The Korean team is also somewhat nomadic. It doesn’t have “home facilities” in an official arena. Instead, the athletes must practice in temporary locations. To top it all off, the team had to recruit two substitute players to temporarily fill in empty spots in order to race in the four-man event.
But despite the odds, the Korean bobsled team, consisting of Kang Gwang-bae, Lee Jin-hee, Kim Jung-su and Jo In-ho, won the bronze medal in the four-man event earlier this month at the America’s Cup in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Korean team was ranked fifth in the first round on Jan. 13, but rallied in the second round the next day to climb to third with a combined time of 1:39:23.
Canada (1:37:22) won the gold, followed by the United States (1:38:44).
In addition to their bronze, the team nabbed two other honors. First, the team earned its passage to next month’s World Championship in Germany and the World Cup scheduled for later this year.
“Our ultimate goal is to secure a bid for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver,” said Kang, 35.
The other honor is that the Korean team members will finally get their own bobsled. The Gangwon provincial government and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will provide the funds.
“Kim Jong-min, the minister of culture and tourism, congratulates the Korean bobsled team,” said the public relations department at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
“We are planning to support them in many ways.”

By Chang Hye-soo JoongAng Ilbo [enational@joongang.co.kr]