Home > Sports > Olympic Sports

Team Korea bring speed skating medal count to eight at Asian Winter Games

Published: 10 Feb. 2025, 17:12 Updated: 10 Feb. 2025, 18:00

PAIK JI-HWAN
[email protected]

Korean speed skaters Kim Jun-ho, Cha Min-hyuk and Cho Sang-hyeok skate during the men's team sprint race at the Asian Winter Games at the HIC Speed Skating Oval in Harbin, China on Feb. 10. [YONHAP]

Team Korea added a silver and a bronze medal in speed skating at the Asian Winter Games on Monday, bringing the country’s medal count in the sport to eight.

Kim Jun-ho claimed a bronze in the men’s 500-meter final at the HIC Speed Skating Oval in Harbin, China, finishing in 35.03 seconds. He placed behind gold medalist Gao Tingyu of China, who clocked 34.95 seconds, and silver medalist Morishige Wataru of Japan at 34.97 seconds.

The bronze was Kim’s second medal at this year’s Asiad, following his first bronze in the men’s 100-meter on Saturday.

Korean speed skater Kim Jun-go reacts after finishing the men's 500-meter race at the Asian Winter Games at the HIC Speed Skating Oval in Harbin, China on Feb. 10. [YONHAP]

His third Asiad medal came shortly after, as he teamed up with Cha Min-kyu and Cho Sang-hyeok to win silver in the men’s team sprint. The trio finished in 1:20.48, which was 1.26 seconds behind China.

In team sprint speed skating, three skaters race three laps together, but only one completes the entire course. The lead-out skater exits after the first lap, the second after the second lap, leaving the third skater to finish the race.

The silver marks the highest finish by Korean male skaters at this year’s Asian Games.

The women’s competition on Monday did not yield a medal for Korea. Park Ji-woo, Kang Soo-min and Jeong Yu-na failed to secure a podium finish in the 3,000-meter race, where China swept all three medals. Park was the highest-placed Korean, finishing fifth with a time of 4:16.82.

Despite Monday’s results, Korean female speed skaters have earned five medals at this year’s Games — three golds and two silvers. Kim Min-sun has been the standout performer with three medals as of Monday.

Korea's prowess in speed skating is well-established, as the country has historically been one of the strongest contenders in the event at the Asian Games, ranking second overall in medal standings behind Japan.

The speed skating schedule will conclude on Tuesday, with other events, including figure skating and freestyle skiing, still ahead for Team Korea.

Korea is the second-best-performing country in speed skating at this year’s Asiad, with eight medals, trailing host country China by seven.

The country has already enjoyed significant success elsewhere, topping the short track speed skating medal count with 13. Additional medals have also come from snowboarding and curling.

Korea is participating in all 11 sports at this year’s Asiad, which returned after an eight-year hiatus following the cancellation of the 2021 edition due to Covid-19.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]