Two-time Olympic medalist Cha leaves it all on the ice

Olympic Sports

Published: 10 Apr. 2022, 18:12

Two-time Olympic medalist Cha leaves it all on the ice

Cha Min-kyu [KSOC]

Cha Min-kyu celebrates winning the men's 500-meter silver medal at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on Feb.12. [YONHAP]

Winning an Olympic medal puts you in the top three athletes in that event in the world. Doing it two Olympics in a row elevates you to a whole new level.

Speed skater Cha Min-kyu, silver medalist in the men's 500 meters, achieved that feat at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

Four years ago at the PyeongChang Winter Games, Cha finished second with a time of 34.42 seconds in the men's 500 meters. In Beijing, he was able to shave 0.03 seconds off that time, reaching his season-best time on the big stage and moving closer to his personal best time of 34.03 seconds.

Cha sat down with the Korea JoongAng Daily to discuss his second Olympics and his speed skating career on March 25. The following are edited excerpts.

Cha Min-kyu receives the men's 500-meter speed skating silver medal at Beijing Olympic Medal Plaza in Beijing on Feb. 12. Cha won the silver medal with a time of 34.39 seconds. [NEWS1]

How do you feel about winning your second silver medal?

I am happy but it's more of a bittersweet emotion for me. My feelings are a bit mixed because the process wasn't easy and I wanted to do better. But it's still a medal and an achievement.

You competed in the 500 meters and 1,000 meters at the Beijing Games, how are the two races different for you?

The 500 meters is my main event, but I actually did have high expectations for the 1,000 meters this year because I was doing well in the event ahead of the Games. It's a shame I didn't do well in the 1,000-meter race.

The difference is that the 1,000-meter race requires more strength because it's longer. There are also minor differences in race tactics. For instance, I can decide how I want to distribute my strength in the 1,000-meter race but there's no time in the 500-meter race to do that. The most important thing in the 500 meters is not making any mistakes.

Cha Min-kyu races in the men's 500 meters at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on Feb. 12. [NEWS1]

After the 500-meter race, you mentioned in an interview that you had made some mistakes. What were they?

There are two corners in the 500-meter race and I slipped when I was coming out of the second corner. I wanted to increase my speed there, but I knew I had slipped slightly and I didn't get to move as much as I wanted. I still have regrets about that part of the race.

There can be many different reasons for slipping. It could be because of an issue with the blade or it could be because of the centrifugal force due to the speed. But like I said, it's impossible to make up for that mistake in the 500-meter race. So the moment I slipped, I knew that I was not going to be completely happy with my race. I kept thinking that I still need to go forward and still need to push on toward the finish line. But like I said, in the 500 meters, any slight mistake affects your result.

What are the most important aspects of the 500-meter race?

Warming up and loosening up the muscles before the race is important especially for big competitions like the Olympics. I feel my age when I notice that it takes more time to warm up.

Once I've done that and take to the ice, I try not to think too much during the race. It's more about sticking to the plan. Athletes have a set lap time for each section and that's why coaches hold up the time for us after each lap. We manage our race according to that lap time and decide whether to increase the speed or not.

Cha Min-kyu skates during a speedskating practice session at the 2022 Winter Olympics on Feb. 9, 2022, in Beijing. [AP/YONHAP]

You mentioned you had trouble with your equipment before and during the Beijing Olympics, what were those problems?

My blades caused me problems throughout the World Cup season and up to the Olympics. I couldn't race the way I wanted to and I found myself slipping in places where I never had any problems before. I tried everything, I tried new blades, I tried bending the blades, I even tried a new way of sharpening the blades but none of that worked.

Luckily, I found the technician that sharpened my blades during the PyeongChang Games and fixed them only just before the Beijing Games. Honestly, I think that affected my race a lot and is one of the reasons I took silver.

In my opinion, the effect of equipment on an athlete's performance in winter sports is much greater than summer sports to the extent that a problem in our equipment can render years of training and athletic skills useless.

As an athlete, I wish there was more support for things like that. It worries me that there aren't many speed skating hopefuls. If there were more people willing to learn speed skating, I think the sport could get more support.

Why do you think you became a short tracker and what would you say is the appeal of the sport?

I first started out as a short tracker when I was 10 and I was doing fine, but then I tried out speed skating in the last year of high school. That decision was half curiosity and half confidence.

Even in my first year of university, I went back and forth between speed skating and short track. I only became a speed skater after I joined the business team. The reason for switching is partly because I didn't especially enjoy the physical aspect of short track but I was curious and was confident for some reason. I can't say my confidence was backed with strong proof or reason but I kind of knew I would do okay.

The appeal of speed skating is that the real battle is within you, it's that effort to win against yourself. The time difference between athletes is so small and you don't know who will win until everyone finishes their race. You could be racing fastest and with the slightest mistake, you could drop out of contention for a medal.

I also think that for spectators, the race could be more exciting to watch if they know the race style of each player. I, for instance, like to put on a spurt toward the end of the race while most racers focus on a stronger start.

Cha Min-kyu races in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics men's 500 meters at the Gangneung Oval in Gangneung, Gangwon on Feb. 19, 2018. Cha won the silver medal with a time of 34.42 seconds. [YONHAP]

Cha Min-kyu celebrates winning the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics men's 500-meter silver medal at the Gangneung Oval in Gangneung, Gangwon on Feb. 19, 2018. [JOONGANG ILBO]

You won the silver medal in Pyeongchang four years ago, 0.01 seconds behind the gold medalist. How was the Beijing Olympics different from the PyeongChang Olympics?

Back in 2018, people called my PyeongChang silver medal a surprise medal. But one can only win a medal after years of practice, fighting and a painful process of fixing problems on the way, but it's hard for people to get that.

I don't blame them because I also want to do well all the time and be called a medal candidate for every race. It would be great to win at every World Championships, World Cup and Olympics. But as I mentioned earlier, I had a lot going on, especially with my equipment, and I myself felt like I was pulled down by all of it.

To answer your question, I wanted to win in Beijing badly because of that. I wanted to prove them wrong especially because I went on the Beijing ice with an even lower world ranking than I did in Pyeongchang, so in that way, my second medal could have been more of a surprise. But I think I could prove myself this time because I managed to defend my silver medal and repeat my past success.

What are your plans going forward?

The season ends for me in April so during my offseason, I plan on doing some light training with rehabilitation. As for my long term plan, whether I can get enough support to carry on with my training will decide if I can go to the Milan Games. It's not going to be easy.

Obviously, I want to go if I can. I have so much that I want to try to improve my game. I am not scared of making changes to my equipment, to my race tactics and trying a new diet. I am willing to try anything to better my game.

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