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Speed skater Kim Min-sun tight-lipped about preparation

Published: 05 Feb. 2026, 09:41

Korean speed skater Kim Min-sun participates in a test run for the women's 500 meters ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics at Milano Speed Skating Stadium in Milan on Feb. 4. [YONHAP]

In the weeks leading up to her third Winter Olympics, speed skater Kim Min-sun often talked about how she had altered her training program in ways that could help her peak in time for the big competition in February.

Now with her main event, the women's 500 meters, just 11 days away at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games in northern Italy, Kim declined to talk about the state of her preparation on Wednesday.

"No comment," Kim said with a sheepish grin when asked to put a percentage on how far she thought she'd come. She had just participated in a test run of the women's 500 meters, along with 15 other skaters, at Milano Speed Skating Stadium.

Kim decided to transform the way she trained after finding herself tiring down the stretch. A speed skating season goes from October to March, and she wanted to save her best for February, when Winter Olympic races are typically held, not for December or January.

Kim is now about to put that potentially career-defining change to its biggest test. And on Wednesday, without giving her max effort, Kim clocked 39.26 seconds, some two seconds off her seasonal average.

"I was just out here trying to get a better feel for the ice," Kim said. "They said they were going to test their drone, and so I wanted to see what that was like."

Kim did offer that she will have to continue to work on her start.

"In the 500 meters, the start is really crucial, and I will have to focus on not making any mistake in that part of the race," the 26-year-old said. "The ice conditions aren't great but they aren't that bad, either. Let's see how they change closer to the competition.

Yonhap