Jung, Gim dominate slalom races at Yongpyong FIS event

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Published: 16 Mar. 2022, 14:06 Updated: 16 Mar. 2022, 15:50

Jung, Gim dominate slalom races at Yongpyong FIS event

Jung Dong-hyun passes a gate during the second run of the men's slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics on Feb. 16 in the Yanqing district of Beijing. [AP/ YONHAP]

Gim Sohui competes in the first run of the women's slalom during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre in Yanqing on Feb. 9. [AFP/YONHAP]

Alpine ski Olympians Jung Dong-hyun and Gim So-hui won two FIS Cup gold medals each on Tuesday at Yongpyong Resort, Gangwon.

Jung won the men's slalom and giant slalom gold medals, while Gim won the women's slalom and giant slalom gold medals.

Jung crossed the giant slalom finish line on Wednesday with a time of 44.67 seconds in his first run, then finished his second run with a time of 42.24 seconds, the best result of the day. Jung's total time of 1 minute and 29.91 seconds was 1.3 seconds faster than second placed Park Je-yun and 1.74 seconds faster than third placed Shin Jeong-woo.

This comes as some consolation for the Olympian as he had failed to finish the giant slalom race at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics due to poor weather conditions.

Jung had started out 36th out of a total of 89 athletes with a start time of 17.64 seconds in Beijing, but was forced to drop out of the race during his first run alongside 32 other competitors due to heavy snow.

On Tuesday, Jung also won the men's slalom gold medal. He recorded a time of 33.08 seconds in his first run and 31.87 seconds in the second run for a total of 1 minute and 4.95 seconds to top the board, 0.42 seconds faster than second-place Park and 0.92 seconds faster than third-place Shin.

Jung's time at Yongpyong Resort is much faster than his time at the Beijing Games. Jung finished 21st out of 88 competitors with a time of 1 minute and 47.69 seconds, 3.60 seconds behind first place. Jung's 21st-place finish was Korea's best alpine ski result of the Games.

Jung Dong-hyun reacts after the second run of the men's slalom during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre in Yanqing on Feb. 16. [AFP/YONHP]

Jung is not the only alpine ski Olympian to go home with two FIS gold medals, as Gim So-hui won the women's giant slalom gold medal on Wednesday with a total time of 1 minute and 28.4 seconds. Her first run was 46 seconds, while her second run was 42.40 seconds.

Her time is much faster than her time on the Olympic snow. At the Games, she finished her first run with a time of 1 minute and 4.12 seconds and her second run with a time of 1 minute and 3.10 seconds. Gim's total time of 2 minutes and 7.22 seconds landed her in 33rd position, marking her best Olympic finish in the event.

Gim also won the slalom gold medal on Tuesday, recording a time of 35.35 seconds on her first run and 33.67 seconds on her second run for a total time of 1 mintue and 9.02 seconds.

At the Beijing Games, Gim finished in 39th place in the women's slalom with a time of 57.31 seconds to land in 42nd place after her first run and 56.80 seconds in her second run. She finished with a total time of 1 minute and 54.11 seconds.

Jung is currently No. 65 in the men's slalom and No. 75 in the men's giant slalom while Gim is No. 181 in the women's slalom and No. 376 in the women's giant slalom in FIS points.

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