Journalist

Park Jong-ho
  • Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo wins 7th Olympic gold, moves within one of Winter Games record
    Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo wins 7th Olympic gold, moves within one of Winter Games record Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo became a two-time gold medalist at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, bringing his career Olympic gold total to seven. Klaebo won the men’s sprint classic final on Monday at the cross-country stadium in Tesero, Italy, finishing in 3 minutes, 39.74 seconds. It was his second gold of these Games after the 10-kilometer plus 10-kilometer skiathlon on Saturday, and his seventh Olympic gold overall. Klaebo won three gold medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. At the 2022 Beijing Games, he won two golds plus one silver and one bronze. Klaebo is the second athlete to win two golds at these Olympics, after Swiss men’s alpine skier Franjo von Allmen. With seven golds, Klaebo is one win away from the Winter Olympics record. The mark of eight is shared by Norway’s Ole Einar Bjoerndalen in biathlon, and cross-country skiers Bjoern Daehlie and Marit Bjoergen. In the men’s sprint classic final, Ben Ogden of the United States took silver in 3:40.61, and Norway’s Oskar Opstad Vike won bronze in 3:46.55. Sweden swept the women’s medals, with Linn Svahn, Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist finishing first through third. 2026-02-10 22:36:00
  • South Korea’s Jung Dae Yoon places 27th in first men’s moguls qualifier at Milan-Cortina Olympics
    South Korea’s Jung Dae Yoon places 27th in first men’s moguls qualifier at Milan-Cortina Olympics South Korea’s Jung Dae Yoon (Seoul Ski Association) finished near the bottom of the standings in the first qualifying round of men’s moguls at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Jung scored 65.51 points on Monday (Korea time) at the Aerials and Moguls Park in Livigno, Italy, placing 27th out of 29 skiers. Jung drew attention last March when he placed third in the men’s moguls final at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) freestyle world championships, becoming the first South Korean to medal in the event. He also posted multiple top-10 finishes on the World Cup circuit this season, raising hopes of an Olympic medal, but struggled in his Olympic debut. The top 10 from Monday’s round advanced to the final. Ikuma Horishima of Japan led with 85.42 points, and Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury was third with 79.11 to reach the final. Jung must finish in the top 10 in the second qualifying round on Wednesday to advance to the final. South Korean teammate Lee Yoon Seung (Kyung Hee University) did not record a score after falling early in his run.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 21:42:00
  • IOC Bars Ukrainian Skeleton Racer’s Memorial Helmet, Allows Armband
    IOC Bars Ukrainian Skeleton Racer’s Memorial Helmet, Allows Armband The Ukrainian Olympic Committee said it asked the International Olympic Committee to approve a “memorial helmet” for skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, but the IOC said it will allow only a memorial armband. In a statement issued Tuesday (Korea time), the Ukrainian Olympic Committee said it requested IOC approval for Heraskevych’s helmet for the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics skeleton event. A day earlier, Heraskevych wore the helmet during a training run at the Cortina Sliding Center in Italy. The helmet features images of Ukrainian athletes killed in the war with Russia. In an interview with Reuters, Heraskevych said some of the people depicted were his friends. He said the helmet was part of keeping a promise to use the Olympics to sustain attention on the war. The helmet includes faces of teenage weightlifter Alina Perekhudova, boxer Pavlo Ishchenko and ice hockey player Oleksii Lohinov. Heraskevych has said he wants to keep drawing attention to Ukraine’s situation during the Olympics while following Olympic rules that ban political demonstrations inside venues. The IOC barred the helmet, saying it violates Rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter, which states that no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in Olympic venues, facilities or other areas. The Ukrainian Olympic Committee disputed that assessment, saying the helmet fully met safety rules and contained no advertising, political slogans or discriminatory elements. It said the helmet was also confirmed to meet required standards during official training. The IOC said it chose a compromise: It will not allow the helmet Heraskevych planned to wear to honor athletes killed in the war with Russia, but it will allow him to wear a memorial armband in competition. The IOC called the decision a compromise, saying armbands have been banned in past cases but that it would make an exception for Heraskevych. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 20:51:00
  • Lim Jong Eon, Hwang Dae Heon and Shin Dong Min advance in men’s 1,000 at Milan Olympics
    Lim Jong Eon, Hwang Dae Heon and Shin Dong Min advance in men’s 1,000 at Milan Olympics Lim Jong Eon (Goyang City Hall), Hwang Dae Heon (Gangwon Provincial Government) and Shin Dong Min (Korea University) all advanced to the quarterfinals of the men’s 1,000 meters in short track at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Competing on Monday (Korea time) at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy, all three finished second in their preliminary heats to move on. Lim, the youngest of the trio, raced first in Heat 2. Italy’s Luca Speckenhauser won in 1:25.422, with Lim second in 1:25.558. Lim led early and held off challenges, but Speckenhauser surged past on the final lap. Shin skated in Heat 5 and finished second behind Canada’s William Dandjinou. Shin moved up from the back, driving down the inside with six laps left to pass Hungary’s Moon Won Jun, a South Korea-born naturalized skater, for the lead. With four laps remaining, Dandjinou took over, and Moon also got by. Shin reclaimed second by passing Moon on the inside on the final lap, finishing in 1:24.870. Hwang competed last among the three in Heat 6, advancing with a second-place time of 1:24.133. He ran third early, then passed Teunbuur of the Netherlands on the inside on the final lap and held the position to the finish behind Canada’s Felix Roussel. China’s Lin Shaojun, who won men’s 1,500 gold wearing South Korea’s uniform at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, placed third in Heat 7 but advanced after Russia-born Ivan Posashikov, competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete, was penalized. The men’s 1,000 quarterfinals, semifinals and final are scheduled for Feb. 13. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 20:06:00
  • South Korea’s men and women eliminated in cross-country sprint classic qualifying at Milan-Cortina
    South Korea’s men and women eliminated in cross-country sprint classic qualifying at Milan-Cortina South Korea’s men’s and women’s national team skiers were all eliminated in qualifying for the cross-country sprint classic at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. In the women’s sprint classic qualifier held Tuesday (Korea time) at the Tesero Cross-Country Stadium in Italy, Lee Ui Jin (Busan Metropolitan City Hall) finished in 4:15.93 and Han Da Som (Gyeonggi Provincial Government) clocked 4:17.62. Among 89 starters, Lee placed 70th and Han was 74th. Sweden swept the top three spots in qualifying: Linn Svahn was first in 3:36.21, Jonna Sundling second in 3:37.24 and Johanna Hagstroem third in 3:38.85. In the men’s sprint classic qualifier that followed, Lee Jun Seo (Gyeonggi Provincial Government) placed 64th in 3:32.40. He went through the first 800 meters in 2:00.4 but faded after the midway point and dropped down the standings. All three missed the cutoff for the top 30, which advances to the main draw. The sprint classic is a 1.5-kilometer race skied in the traditional classic technique, with skis kept parallel while pushing forward. Earlier, Lee and Han also struggled in the 10-kilometer plus 10-kilometer skiathlon. They are scheduled to compete next in the women’s 10-kilometer free on Feb. 12 and the women’s team sprint free on Feb. 18. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 19:03:00
  • Lee praises late bloomers surprise silver-medal finish at Winter Olympics in Italy
    Lee praises late bloomer's surprise silver-medal finish at Winter Olympics in Italy SEOUL, February 9 (AJP) - President Lee Jae-myung on Monday congratulated snowboarder Kim Sang-kyum after the athlete secured South Korea's first medal at this year's Winter Olympics, which kicked off in Cortina d'Ampezzo and Milan last Friday. Lee praised Kim's silver-medal finish in the men's parallel giant slalom, saying the athlete spent "years of training for races decided by fractions of a second, perfecting his technique and equipment on harsh snow," and finally made the Olympic podium on his fourth attempt since the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Lee said the medal was meaningful as South Korea's 400th Olympic medal and the second silver in snow events, demonstrating the country's strength beyond ice sports. He added Kim's medal will boost the South Korean team's confidence, adding that he will cheer for athletes through the final day of the Olympics which will run until Feb. 22 and feature around 3,500 athletes from over 90 countries competing for 116 medals across 16 disciplines. The previous day, the 37-year-old won silver, narrowly losing the final to Austria's Benjamin Karl by just 0.19 seconds after surprisingly advancing to the knockout round by upsetting world No. 1 and favorite Roland Fischnaller of Italy in the quarterfinals. It was the country's first Olympic medal in a snow event in eight years and only its second ever, after Lee Sang-ho's silver-medal finish at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. The medal was especially precious as it was the late bloomer's first in roughly 12 years, since he first competed as part of South Korea's first Olympic snowboarding team at Sochi. Sunday's medal was a milestone for South Korea, as it was the country's 80th Winter Olympic medal and 400th Olympic medal overall including 320 from the Summer Games. 2026-02-09 11:32:45
  • South Korea’s Kim Sun Young, Jeong Yeong Seok beat Canada 9-5 for third straight mixed doubles win
    South Korea’s Kim Sun Young, Jeong Yeong Seok beat Canada 9-5 for third straight mixed doubles win South Korea’s mixed doubles curling pair Kim Sun Young (Gangneung City Hall) and Jeong Yeong Seok (Gangwon Provincial Office) beat Canada on Sunday for their third straight win after a five-game losing streak. Kim and Jeong defeated Canada’s Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant 9-5 in their eighth round-robin game at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. South Korea improved to 3-5 and were tied for sixth with Norway. The teams traded one point each in the first and second ends, but Canada took two in the third to lead 3-1. With last stone in the fourth, Kim knocked out a Canadian stone in the house to score three and put South Korea ahead 4-3. South Korea added two more in the fifth to make it 6-3. Canada used its power play in the sixth and scored two to close to 6-5. South Korea used its power play in the seventh to score two and extend the lead to 8-5, then added one in the eighth to seal the win. The mixed doubles field includes South Korea, the Czech Republic, Britain, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia and Norway among 10 nations. In round-robin play, the top four advance to the semifinals (No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3). With four teams already at five wins or more, South Korea have been eliminated from semifinal contention. South Korea play Norway later Sunday in their final round-robin game. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-09 05:12:00
  • Lindsey Vonn Stable After Surgery Following Crash in Milan-Cortina Olympic Downhill
    Lindsey Vonn Stable After Surgery Following Crash in Milan-Cortina Olympic Downhill U.S. alpine skiing star Lindsey Vonn was stable after surgery following a hard crash 13 seconds into her run in the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics women’s downhill, organizers said.  Vonn fell on Feb. 8 (local time) at the Tofane Alpine Ski Center in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, and did not finish the race.  She lost control on the second turn when her right arm struck a gate, then slammed into the snow and tumbled. Vonn could not get up. Medical staff assessed her on the course before she was flown by helicopter to a hospital. She was taken to an intensive care unit at a hospital in the Cortina area for initial treatment and later transferred to a large hospital in Treviso. The hospital said in a statement that orthopedic surgeons operated to stabilize a fracture in her left leg. U.S. Ski & Snowboard said Vonn was in stable condition and was receiving intensive care from U.S. and Italian medical teams.  Vonn won her first Olympic gold medal in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games and retired in 2019. She returned to competition in the 2024-2025 season to prepare for these Winter Olympics. But on Jan. 30, she injured her left knee after a jump landing during a World Cup race in Switzerland and was also evacuated by helicopter.  Vonn completed two training runs on the Olympic course, raising expectations, but the injury is expected to make it difficult for her to compete in the rest of the Games.  International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry wished her a speedy recovery, saying, “Lindsey Vonn is always an Olympic champion and a symbol of inspiration.” * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-09 04:42:00
  • South Korea Eyes First Multiple Medals in Skiing, Snowboarding at Milan-Cortina 2026
    South Korea Eyes First Multiple Medals in Skiing, Snowboarding at Milan-Cortina 2026 South Korea are aiming for a first-ever multiple-medal haul in Olympic skiing and snowboarding at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Games.   Kim Sang-gyeom of High1 won silver in the men’s snowboard parallel giant slalom on Saturday (local time) at Livigno Snow Park in Italy, giving South Korea their second Olympic medal in skiing and snowboarding.  It was the first medal for South Korea in those sports in eight years, after Lee Sang-ho won silver in the same event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, the country’s first podium finish in 58 years of Olympic participation. Lee, initially seen as the top medal hope, was eliminated in the round of 16, but Kim’s runner-up finish lifted the team’s outlook for the remaining events.  With more events ahead, South Korea are now looking to win at least two medals in skiing and snowboarding at a single Olympics for the first time. Several athletes born in the 2000s are set to compete across multiple disciplines. Snowboard halfpipe qualifying begins Tuesday. The event is judged on aerial tricks performed on a sloped, half-cylinder course. While it has long featured global stars such as Shaun White and Chloe Kim of the United States, South Korea’s Choi Ga-on of Sehwa High School and Lee Chae-woon of Kyung Hee University have recently shown promise internationally.  Choi has won three International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) World Cup events this season and is leading the women’s halfpipe standings, making her a gold-medal contender.  Lee has dealt with injuries, but he won men’s halfpipe gold at the 2023 world championships as the youngest champion and won slopestyle at last year’s Harbin Asian Winter Games.  In snowboard big air, Yoo Seung-eun of Seongbok High School took silver in an FIS Snowboard World Cup event in December in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He was the first South Korean to reach the podium in World Cup big air.  South Korea also see medal potential in freestyle ski halfpipe, with Lee Seung-hoon of Korea National Sport University, the gold medalist at last year’s Harbin Asian Winter Games, competing in the event.  Men’s freestyle ski moguls is another target. Qualifying begins Monday. Moguls features a course covered with roughly 1-meter-high bumps, with athletes racing downhill and performing aerial spins off jumps. Jung Dae-yoon of the Seoul Ski Association, who has earned podium finishes at the world championships and World Cup, is seeking South Korea’s first Olympic medal in freestyle skiing. The Games also include dual moguls, in which two skiers race head-to-head, and Jung is also in contention there, with that event scheduled for Feb. 15.    * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-09 02:54:00
  • South Korea’s Lee Jae Myung Congratulates Snowboarder Kim Sang-gyeom on First Milan 2026 Medal
    South Korea’s Lee Jae Myung Congratulates Snowboarder Kim Sang-gyeom on First Milan 2026 Medal President Lee Jae Myung congratulated South Korean snowboarder Kim Sang-gyeom after Kim won the nation’s first medal of the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics.  In a message posted Monday on social media, Lee said South Korea’s first medal of the Games had been secured and offered his congratulations to Kim for taking silver in the men’s parallel giant slalom.  Lee said Kim had spent years training for races decided by fractions of a second, refining his technique and tuning his equipment on harsh snow. He added that Kim reached the Olympic podium on his fourth attempt since the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.  Lee called the result especially meaningful because it was South Korea’s 400th Olympic medal. He also said it was the country’s second silver medal in snow events, showing South Korea are becoming competitive beyond ice sports.  On Sunday in South Korea, Kim won silver at the Livigno Snow Park in Italy, finishing 0.19 seconds behind Benjamin Karl of Austria in the final.  It was South Korea’s first medal of the Games and the country’s second Olympic medal in skiing and snowboarding, the first in eight years. Lee said Kim’s medal would give the entire South Korean team courage and confidence as more athletes compete. He added that he would join the public in cheering for South Korea through the final day of the Olympics. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-09 01:27:00