Teen snowboarder reaches men's halfpipe final SEOUL, February 12 (AJP) - With this year's Winter Olympics underway in Cortina d'Ampezzo and Milan, teen snowboarder Lee Chae-un finished ninth in the qualifying round of the men's halfpipe on Wednesday, becoming the first South Korean man to reach the final. He is now set to compete in the final round in the alpine town of Livigno in northern Italy on Thursday, where the top 12 snowboarders will vie for medals. At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Lee competed as South Korea's youngest athlete but was eliminated in the qualifying round after finishing 18th. Now he hopes to secure a medal that eluded him four years ago. Meanwhile, Australia's Scotty James led the qualifying round with 94 points, followed by Japanese snowboarders Yuto Totsuka (91.25) and Ryusei Yamada (90.25). 2026-02-12 10:25:27

South Korea’s Jeong Seung-gi opens Olympic skeleton bid; women’s curling debuts vs. U.S. South Korea’s top skeleton racer Jeong Seung-gi, often described as the successor to Yoon Sung-bin, begins his push for a first Olympic medal on Thursday night. Jeong is scheduled to compete in runs one and two of the men’s skeleton on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Korea time at the Cortina Sliding Center in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, at the 2026 Milano-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. Skeleton standings are decided by combined times over four runs across two days. Jeong finished 10th at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, his first Games. He later won bronze at the 2022-23 world championships and placed second overall in the World Cup standings, establishing himself among the world’s best. He had surgery after a back injury during training in October 2024, but returned successfully and won a World Cup bronze medal this season. Expectations are higher after Jeong placed fifth at the first World Cup event held on the Cortina track that will host the Olympic race. Veteran Kim Ji-su, also of Gangwon Provincial Office, is also entered, returning to the Olympics for the first time in eight years since Pyeongchang. Another South Korean medal hopeful, the women’s curling team from Gyeonggi Provincial Office led by skip Kim Eun-ji, opens round-robin play Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Korea time against the United States at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. South Korea’s challenges in snow events continue as well. Cross-country skiers Lee Ui-jin of the Busan Sports Council and Han Da-som of Gyeonggi Provincial Office are set to race the women’s 10-kilometer interval-start freestyle at 9 p.m. Korea time at the Tesero Cross-Country Ski Stadium. Both failed to finish the opening 10+10 km skiathlon. They were also disqualified in the sprint classic qualifying on Feb. 10 after fluorine-containing wax was detected during an equipment check. The two said they will recheck their gear and try to restore their standing.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-12 07:51:00

South Korea’s Lee Chae Woon reaches Olympic men’s halfpipe final in 9th South Korean snowboard prospect Lee Chae Woon of Kyung Hee University has reached the Olympic men’s halfpipe final, a first for South Korea in the event. Lee scored 82 points on Wednesday in qualifying at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, Italy, placing ninth among 25 riders at the 2026 Milano-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. The result put him into the final reserved for the top 12. It is the first time since Kim Ho Jun’s debut at the 2010 Vancouver Games that South Korea will have finalists in both halfpipe events, with Lee and women’s rider Choi Ga On of Sehwa High School advancing. Lee earned his score on his first run, landing a series that included consecutive four-rotation spins and a high-difficulty grab. He could not improve on his second run after a mistake, but his first-run score was enough to advance. Lee competed at the 2022 Beijing Olympics as South Korea’s youngest national team member and was eliminated in qualifying in 18th. Four years later, he has moved into the final and will chase a medal. Teammate Lee Ji O of Yangpyeong High School narrowly missed out. After an error on his first run, he scored 74 on his second but finished 13th, 1.5 points behind 12th-place Jake Pates of the United States (75.5). Asian Games gold medalist Kim Geon Hee of Siheung Maehwa High School was eliminated after mistakes on both runs. Scotty James of Australia led qualifying with 94 points. Japan’s Yuto Totsuka was second with 91.25, followed by Ryusei Yamada with 90.25. Lee will try to win South Korea’s first men’s snowboard medal in the final, scheduled for 3:30 a.m. Friday (Korea time).* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-12 05:54:00

South Korea’s Gu Gyeong-min Misses Medal in Olympic Men’s 1,000; Hungary’s Kim Min-seok Also Comes Up Short South Korea’s Gu Gyeong-min fell short of a medal in the men’s 1,000 meters in speed skating at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. Gu finished in 1 minute, 8.53 seconds in the fourth pairing at the Milan Speed Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, on Wednesday (Korea time). Skating alongside Norway’s Bjorn Magnussen, Gu opened with a strong first lap of 41.12 seconds and briefly led the overall standings after his race. His time was soon surpassed by skaters in the fifth pairing, dropping him to third. He later fell out of medal position after the Netherlands’ Kjeld Nuis posted a dominant 1:07-range time in the ninth pairing. Kim Min-seok, who competes for Hungary after changing nationality, raced in the sixth pairing and finished in 1:08.59, slower than Gu. Kim won Olympic medals for South Korea at the 2018 Pyeongchang and 2022 Beijing Games. After a 2022 drunk-driving incident left him unable to compete as a national team athlete, he became a Hungarian citizen in 2024.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-12 04:03:00

South Korea’s Abakumova Places 63rd in Women’s 15km Biathlon at Milan-Cortina Games Naturalized South Korean biathlete Ekaterina Abakumova finished in the lower half of the field in her third Olympic appearance. Abakumova, 35, placed 63rd among 90 starters in the women’s 15-kilometer individual at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Tuesday (Korean time) at the Biathlon Arena in Antholz, Italy. She finished in 47 minutes, 18.2 seconds. She missed three targets — once in prone shooting and twice standing — hurting her overall time. Abakumova, a former Russian youth national team member, became a South Korean citizen in 2016. She placed 16th at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, then finished 73rd at the 2022 Beijing Games, making Milan her third straight Olympics. France’s Julia Simon won gold in 41:15.6. Despite one miss in standing, she led the field with her skiing and crossed first. After helping France win the mixed relay earlier, Simon became a two-time champion at these Games. France’s Lou Jeanmonnot took silver in 42:08.7, and Bulgaria’s Laura Hristova won bronze in 42:20.1.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-12 00:51:00

South Korea’s Moguls Skiers Miss Direct Final Berths, Head to Second Qualifier South Korea’s freestyle ski moguls team failed to secure direct berths to the final and will try again in a second qualifying round. Jeong Dae Yun (Seoul Ski Association), Lee Yun Seung (Kyung Hee University) and Yoon Shin I (Bongpyeong High School) competed on Feb. 10 (Korea time) at Aerial Moguls Park in Livigno, Italy, but did not finish in the top 10, which earns an automatic spot in the final of the 2026 Milano-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. In the men’s qualifier, Jeong scored 65.51 points and placed 27th among 30 skiers. Lee did not finish after falling on the landing following a jump. In the women’s qualifier, Yoon scored 59.40 points and finished 21st. Moguls features a bumpy course raced at speed, with athletes judged on turns and aerial maneuvers. The top 10 from the first qualifier advance to the final on Feb. 12, while the remaining skiers must place in the top 10 in the second qualifier to reach the final. Jeong and Lee will compete in the second qualifier on Feb. 12, and Yoon will race on Feb. 11. In the men’s qualifier, 2022 Beijing bronze medalist Ikuma Horishima of Japan led with 85.42 points. Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury scored 79.11 to place third and also advanced. In the women’s qualifier, Australia’s Jakara Anthony was first with 81.65 points.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 23:51:00

South Korea finish sixth in Olympic short track mixed relay after semifinal crash; Italy win gold South Korea’s short track team finished sixth in the mixed relay at the 2026 Milano-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. Host Italy won gold in the Final A, which South Korea did not reach. South Korea placed second in Final B, the ranking race, on Monday at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, timing 2 minutes, 40.319 seconds. The Netherlands won the race in 2:35.537, leaving South Korea sixth overall. South Korea’s medal hopes were derailed in the semifinal. Midrace, a U.S. skater ahead fell, and Kim Gil-li, 22, of Seongnam City Hall, who was skating behind, was taken down in the collision. Kim got up and made the tag to the next skater, Choi Min-jeong, but the team could not close the gap and finished third in its heat, missing the medal final. Kim also took a heavy blow to her chest in the crash and did not skate in Final B. Noh Do-hee, 31, of Hwaseong City Hall, was inserted on short notice. Depending on the severity of Kim’s injury, her participation in upcoming individual events is uncertain. In Final A, Italy crossed first to take gold. Canada won silver and Belgium earned bronze. South Korea, still seeking its first medal of the Games, will look to rebound in the remaining men’s and women’s individual races and relays while monitoring Kim’s recovery.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 21:33:00

South Korea Fall Ends Mixed Relay Final Bid in Short Track at Milan 2026 * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 20:54:20

Choi Min Jeong, Kim Gil Ri and Lee So Yeon reach women’s 500m quarterfinals in Milan South Korea’s three women’s short track skaters all cleared the opening round of the 500 meters. Choi Min Jeong and Kim Gil Ri of Seongnam City Hall, along with Lee So Yeon of Sports Toto, advanced to the quarterfinals on Monday (Korea time) in the women’s 500m heats at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy. Kim placed second in Heat 2 in 43.301 seconds, holding the No. 2 spot behind Canada’s Courtney Sarault from the early laps. Choi finished second in Heat 6 in 43.204. She moved to the lead early on the inside line but slipped slightly on the final curve and gave up first place to Belgium’s Hanne Desmet, still advancing comfortably. Lee advanced in Heat 7 after starting last in the four-skater field. She moved up when Alena Krylova, skating as a neutral athlete (AIN) and described as Russian-born, fell. Lee finished third and ranked fourth among the eight third-place finishers by time to claim a quarterfinal berth. In the 500m, the top two in each heat and the four fastest third-place skaters advance. The women’s 500m final is scheduled for Feb. 13.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 19:27:00

South Korea’s Yoo Seung-eun reaches Olympic women’s snowboard big air final in 4th Eighteen-year-old Yoo Seung-eun (Seongbok High School) made South Korean snowboard history by reaching the Olympic big air final, keeping her in medal contention after Kim Sang-gyeom (High1) delivered the team’s first medal of the Games. Yoo placed fourth out of 29 riders in women’s big air qualifying at Livigno Snow Park in Sondrio, Italy, with 166.50 points from her first and third runs. The top 12 advanced to the final. She opened with 80.75 points, scored 77.75 on her second attempt, then posted 88.75 on her third with a high-difficulty trick. Qualifying standings were determined by adding the best two of three scores. It is the first time a South Korean snowboarder has advanced to an Olympic big air final. Yoo was 0.5 points behind third-place Mia Brookes of Britain (167.00). Joy Sadowski-Synnott of New Zealand led qualifying with 172.25, followed by Japan’s Kokomo Murase with 171.25. Born in 2008, Yoo has emerged as a top prospect. She was runner-up at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) World Junior Championships in 2023, and in December she finished second at a World Cup event in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, becoming the first South Korean to win a World Cup big air medal. The women’s big air final is scheduled for 3:30 a.m. on Feb. 10.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-09 06:42:00