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High schooler Rim Jong-un wins Korea's Olympic short track trials

Published: 13 Apr. 2025, 20:22

Rim Jong-un, front, skates during the short track speed skating national squad selection contest at Mokdong Ice Rink in western Seoul on April 13. [YONHAP]

A high school senior won the Korean Olympic short-track speedskating trials that wrapped up Sunday, earning a chance to represent the country at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

Rim Jong-un, 17, finished first overall among male skaters with 102 points after two rounds of the 2025-26 season national team trials at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul.

Rim shot to first place after the opening phase, thanks to his victory in the 1,500-meter race, runner-up finish in the 1,000-meter race and 17th-place showing in the 500-meter race. In the second stage, Rim once again captured the 1,500-meter title, finishing third in the 500-meter race and 10th in the 1,000-meter race.
Rim won two gold medals at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Junior Short Track Championships in February, and he has made the senior national team for the first time.

Hwang Dae-heon, the 2022 Olympic champion in the 1,500-meter race, finished second overall to Rim with 89 points.

Hwang, 25, had come up short in the national team trials for the 2024-25 season while also causing controversy by committing a series of fouls on teammate Park Ji-won at the ISU World Cup, world championships and national team trials.

Shin Dong-min, a triple gold medalist at last year's world juniors, finished third in the trials with 55 points. The 20-year-old will also make his senior international debut.

The top three finishers for men will skate in individual events and relays at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The next two skaters in the trials, Lee Jeong-min and Lee June-seo, will only be eligible for the relays.

Park Ji-won, a three-time world champion who has also won three overall World Cup titles, finished well out of contention at the trials. Despite his decorated international resume, Park has never skated at an Olympics.

On the women's side, Kim Gil-li, the 2024 ISU World Cup overall champion, won the trials with 128 points, followed by Noh Do-hee with 69 points.

Three-time Olympic champion Choi Min-jeong had secured an automatic berth by winning an individual gold medal at the world championships last month, and only Kim and Noh earned the rights to skate in individual events at the Olympics through the trials.

Lee So-yeon and Shim Suk-hee, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, earned spots for the relays in Italy after finishing third and fourth in the trials.

Yonhap