Korean ski jumper takes gold in Germany

Korean ski jumper Choi Yong-jik, 22, won the FIS Continental Cup in Brotterode, Germany on Sunday.
The Continental Cup is secondary to the FIS World Cup Series, and this is another feast for a country with only six adult ski jumpers.
Choi scored a total of 267.9 points from his first and second jumps in the HS-117 competition, ahead of well-known European jumpers Kalle Keituri of Finland and Bastian Kaltenboeck of Austria. HS-117 indicates that the jump stand’s standard distance is 117 meters (384 feet) long.
In the first jump, Choi flew only 109.5 meters, but he made the longest jump in the second round at 123.5 meters. Keituri of Finland went 111.5 meters in his first jump and 119.5 in the second, scoring 260.8 points. Kim Hyun-ki placed eighth and Kang Chil-gu came in 16th, among 70 ski jumpers in the event.
Choi Heung-chul, 25, was the first Korean to win the gold medal at the Continental Cup, in Germany in 2002. He also won gold in Canada last September.
Korean ski jumpers tried their luck unsuccessfully at the 2005 Winter Universiade in Innsbruck, Austria, last month. Kang, Kim and the two Chois won two gold medals and one silver in the Winter Universiade two years ago in Italy.

by Hur Jin-seok, Limb Jae-un