Sports Briefs

OLYMPICS

PyeongChang sites should be preserved, paper argues

Facilities for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics should be managed as national heritage sites after the Games, a researcher at a Korean think tank said Sunday, arguing for administrative and financial support from the government to maintain the sites.

The facilities should “be used as a foundation to promote winter sports in the nation and build a healthy society,” Kim Tae-dong of the Research Institute for Gangwon said in a paper titled “The Use of Winter Olympic Facilities as Legacy.”

“It’s common for most Olympic facilities to be operated at the national level as shown in other cases at home and abroad,” Kim said, noting that the International Olympic Committee considers facilities as one of five pieces of Olympic heritage.

Citing another example, Kim said the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation was set up after the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, with the event’s profit and government funds used to manage facilities.

He added that Lake Placid, Calgary, Salt Lake City and Vancouver have also managed their facilities as legacies of the Winter Games with their federal government’s financial support and profit from the events.

“In particular, the facilities for speed skating, hockey, skiing and ski jumping of the PyeongChang Olympics should be administered later by the state as they are all very low in profitability,” he said, insisting a special law be enacted to provide financial assistance for their post-event management.

In one example, the government funneled 6.9 billion won ($6.34 million) in 2014, 7.5 billion won in 2015, 5.2 billion won in 2016 and 2.9 billion won in 2017 into the southern port city of Yeosu, South Jeolla, after it hosted a maritime expo in 2012, he noted.

Yonhap

TAEKWONDO

Lee Dae-hoon wins third straight Grand Prix title

Lee Dae-hoon won his third consecutive World Taekwondo Grand Prix title in men’s 68-kilogram at the finals in Ivory Coast on Sunday, making him the first athlete to win three straight titles in the weight division.

Lee defeated Aleksey Denisenko of Russia 14-13. Although Lee allowed points to Denisenko in the first round, Lee took the lead 12-10 in the second round and earned two more points in the third round to maintain his lead.

“I’m glad to win the last tournament of the season,” Lee said. “I think my happiness doubled for defending the title for a third consecutive time.”

By Kang Yoo-rim