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Against all odds, teen skater Rim Jong-un carves a path to Milan 2026

Published: 08 May. 2025, 16:18 Updated: 08 May. 2025, 18:21

Short track speed skater Rim Jong-un poses for a photo during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo at the JoongAng Building in western Seoul on May 7. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Seventeen-year-old Rim Jong-un emerged as one of Korea’s most promising new talents in short-track speedskating after earning a spot on the national team and booking a ticket to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Rim placed first overall in the men’s competition at the national team squad selection contest last month, securing his ticket to the Olympics.

His breakout moment came during the 1,500-meter race, where he surged past veterans Park Ji-won, Hwang Dae-heon and Lee Jung-su in the final laps with an outside-line maneuver that stunned the crowd.

He would be the first male high school student to compete in individual short track events at the Winter Olympics since Hwang at the 2018 PyeongChang Games.

“I couldn’t believe I had made the Olympic team until I went back to school,” Rim said during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo on Wednesday. “That day, my classmates kept asking for photos and autographs. Even my teachers came by to congratulate me.”

Rim attends Nowon High School in northern Seoul, which has never previously produced a national team skater.

This year, however, both Rim and alumnus Lee Jeong-min secured berths on the national team, bringing pride to their school.

Rim first put on skates in first grade, encouraged by those around him who noticed his potential while he was skating for fun. He didn’t commit to the sport seriously until third grade.

Short track speed skater Rim Jong-un poses for a photo during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo at the JoongAng Building in western Seoul on May 7. [JOONGANG ILBO]

“At the time, I just thought I’d try it out and stop if it didn’t work out,” he said.

That changed during the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, which he watched as a fifth grader.

“I suddenly knew I wanted to be on that stage,” he said.

But the path forward was not so smooth.

Rim fell during training and was cut on the inner thigh by a skate blade in fifth grade, leaving him a large scar that still remains today.

He also broke his right shinbone during a race in eighth grade, requiring six months to walk again and a full year of rehabilitation.

“I really thought about quitting for the first time,” Rim said. “It hurt me, but it hurt my parents more. Still, I persuaded them to let me keep going. I told myself time would heal it.”

Just as he returned to training, he suffered another setback: A fractured left ankle.

He was out for six months again.

"I couldn’t give it up,” Rim said. “I love skating too much. I just kept thinking, ‘I overcame it before, I can do it again.’”

While his peers advanced, Rim spent nearly two years in rehabilitation. Determined not to fall further behind, he doubled down.

“Since I was behind, I couldn’t train like everyone else," he said. "I trained two sessions a day, five hours in the afternoon and three in the morning, every day except Saturday.”

The discipline paid off, as his national team spot and Olympic qualification are the fruits of those long hours.

Short track speed skater Rim Jong-un poses for a photo during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo at the JoongAng Building in western Seoul on May 7. [JOONGANG ILBO]

“It feels like a reward for everything I’ve done quietly and consistently,” he said.

Rim describes short track as “pure happiness” and views the Milan Games not as a final destination but as a new beginning.

“I want people to think of me when they hear ‘short track.’ I want to compete in at least three Olympics,” he said.

If he wins gold in Milan, he already knows whom he’ll dedicate it to — the late coach Song Seung-woo, who mentored him from fifth grade and supported him through injuries and doubts. Song passed away suddenly in August 2023.

“I was devastated when I heard the news during training,” Rim said. “He was the one who kept me going through everything. I miss him so much, but I want to win gold and make him proud — even if it’s from above.”

The 2026 Olympics put Rim to the test of whether he can follow in the footsteps of Korean short track speed skaters who have collected the most medals in the sport in Olympic history at 53.

Short-track speedskating has been the sport in which Korea grabbed the most medals at the Winter Olympics, with no other country having come close to Korea's record.

No country has even passed the 40th medal mark, with China and Canada having secured the second most medals at 37 apiece.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY BAE YOUNG-EUN [[email protected]]