Magnus announces his PyeongChang target: gold

SKI

Cross-country skier Kim Magnus said Wednesday he aims to win a gold medal at the Asian Winter Games next month and finish inside the top 20 at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics next year.

Kim, born to a Norwegian father and a Korean mother and competing under the Korean flag, won two gold medals at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. He returned to Korea from overseas training on Wednesday to compete at the Seoul International Cross-Country Competition. The International Ski Federation (FIS)-sanctioned event starts on Friday at a special course designed at a riverside park in downtown Seoul.

“This is a good opportunity to promote cross-country to people,” Kim said at a press conference in Seoul. “I want many people to visit and watch the event.”

Kim will race in a special 100m sprint event before entering the main competition on Saturday. The 18-year-old, however, said he isn’t perfectly fit for the Seoul event.

“I’m currently focused on the Asian Winter Games,” he said. The eighth edition of the continental competition will be held in Sapporo, Japan, from Feb. 19.

“I heard many top class skiers will not compete at the test event because it is held just before the World Championships,” he said. “So, I think I can have a good result in PyeongChang.”

Kim said it is difficult to determine what to expect in his performance at his maiden Asian Games, but he does aim for gold.

“Cross-country is a sport that has a big home field advantage, so I think we can do well at the PyeongChang Games,” he said. “But it’s a pity that the course was completed this season and we don’t have enough time to take advantage of it.”

Yonhap