KSU to decide if Shim can compete in Beijing on Tuesday

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Published: 20 Dec. 2021, 18:09

KSU to decide if Shim can compete in Beijing on Tuesday

Shim Suk-hee [YONHAP]

Whether Olympic gold medalist short track speed skater Shim Suk-hee will be permitted to compete for Korea at the upcoming Beijing Olympics will be decided on Tuesday.

The Korea Skating Union (KSU) will hold a disciplinary committee meeting on Tuesday to determine whether Shim will be punished for insulting her teammates during the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. Shim was earlier cleared of alleged race-fixing charges on Dec. 8.

After investigations into text messages sent by Shim that included what some believed was a reference to race fixing, the KSU reviewed video footage of a collision between Shim and Choi Min-jeong in women’s 1000-meter final at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and announced that there is not sufficient evidence of intentional race fixing.

Shim Suk-hee, center, and Choi Min-jeong collide during the women's 1000-meter final at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics at Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung, Gangwon on Feb. 22, 2018. [JOONGANG ILBO]

At the PyeongChang Games, Shim and Choi collided and fell while turning the final corner and, after a video review, Shim was disqualified while Choi missed out on a medal, taking fourth place.

What was seen as an unfortunate collision between teammates at the time started to be retroactively investigated in October under the suspicion that Shim could have intentionally skated into Choi after an online news outlet reported on text messages that Shim had exchanged with a coach during the PyeongChang Olympics.

The text messages were released as part of the written opinion of lawyers for former national team coach Cho Jae-beom, who is currently in prison for sexually and physically assaulting Shim. Shim's text message contained insults toward teammates Choi and Kim, including a mention of making Choi a "female Steven Bradbury."

The last remark was a reference to Australian short track Olympian Steven Bradbury, who won gold after all of his opponents crashed in a pileup and fell at the last minute during the men's 1000 meters at the 2002 Winter Games.

Shim is one of Korea's top women's short track speed skaters, alongside Choi, Kim Ji-yoo, Lee Yu-bin and Kim A-lang. Shim and Choi are two of the top athletes in the world. Shim has two Olympic gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze, while Choi has two golds.

Though Shim has been cleared of the race fixing allegations, a disciplinary committee will rule on Tuesday on whether she will face any punishment for insulting her teammates. If Shim is suspended for more than two months, she will not be able to compete at the Beijing Olympics. Shim may request a review depending on the level of disciplinary action.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]