Journalist

Park Seungho
  • South Korea beats Japan 7-5 in women’s curling to improve to 3-2 at Milan-Cortina Games
    South Korea beats Japan 7-5 in women’s curling to improve to 3-2 at Milan-Cortina Games South Korea’s women’s curling team, known as “5G” (Gyeonggi Province), beat Japan to move to 3-2 in round-robin play. The team — skip Kim Eun-ji, third Kim Min-ji, second Kim Su-ji, lead Seol Ye-eun and fifth Seol Ye-ji — won 7-5 in its fifth round-robin game on Feb. 15 local time at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. With five of nine round-robin games completed, South Korea stayed in the hunt for a spot in the semifinals. South Korea struck first, stealing points in the second and third ends to take a 2-0 lead. The teams traded points and were tied 3-3 through six ends. The game turned in the seventh and eighth. Holding the hammer in the seventh, South Korea chose a blank end to keep last-stone advantage for the eighth. In the eighth, Kim Min-ji set up the scoring with a double takeout and a runback takeout, and Kim Eun-ji finished by drawing into the house for three points and a 6-3 lead. Japan scored two in the ninth, but South Korea added one in the 10th to seal the win. South Korea next plays China at 3:05 a.m. Feb. 17 Korea time. It is also scheduled to face top-ranked Switzerland, No. 4 Sweden and No. 2 Canada. 2026-02-16 01:30:00
  • Snowboarder Yoo Seung-eun qualifies third for Olympic women’s slopestyle final
    Snowboarder Yoo Seung-eun qualifies third for Olympic women’s slopestyle final South Korean snowboarder Yoo Seung-eun, 18, advanced to the women’s slopestyle final, keeping alive her bid for a second medal at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. Yoo scored 76.80 points on Saturday (Korean time) at Livigno Snow Park in Italy, placing third among 30 riders. The top 12 qualified for the final. She earned her score on her first run, landing a backside 540 melon grab and a backside 720 mute grab cleanly. In her second run, Yoo lost balance early and made an error. Judging it would be difficult to improve on her first score, she opted for basic jumps rather than risk bigger tricks, conserving energy for the final. Defending champion Zoi Sadowski-Synnott of New Zealand led qualifying with 88.08 points from her second run, 11.28 points ahead of Yoo. Big air gold medalist Kokomo Murase of Japan was second with 84.93. Yoo, who won bronze in big air earlier, will try for another medal in the final on the 17th.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-16 01:12:00
  • Naturalized South Korean biathlete Ekaterina Avvakumova finishes 55th in Olympic 10K pursuit
    Naturalized South Korean biathlete Ekaterina Avvakumova finishes 55th in Olympic 10K pursuit Naturalized South Korean biathlete Ekaterina Avvakumova finished 55th in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit at the 2026 Milano-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. Avvakumova, 35, clocked 35 minutes 33.0 seconds in the race held Saturday (Korea time) at the Antholz Biathlon Arena in Italy, placing 55th among 58 finishers. After placing 58th in Friday’s sprint, she earned one of the pursuit berths awarded through 60th place and started near the back under the rules. She missed two shots — one in prone and one in standing — but could not move up significantly because of her skiing time. Avvakumova, a former Russian junior national team member who obtained South Korean citizenship in 2016, is a veteran who posted South Korea’s best Olympic biathlon result by finishing 16th in an individual event at the 2018 PyeongChang Games. At the Milano Olympics, she previously placed 63rd in the 15-kilometer individual race. Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi won gold, crossing first in 30:11.80. Norway’s Maren Kirkeeide took silver, followed by Finland’s Suvi Minkkinen with bronze.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-16 00:30:00
  • Teen skater comes from behind to win bronze in mens short-track speed skating
    Teen skater comes from behind to win bronze in men's short-track speed skating SEOUL, February 13 (AJP) - With this year's Winter Olympics now halfway through in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, short-track speed skater Rim Jong-un won bronze in the men's 1,000 meters on Thursday. Lim, the only South Korean skater to reach the final, came from behind to finish third with a time of 1:24.61. With top contenders like Jens van't Wout of the Netherlands, Sun Long of China and William Dandjinou of Canada leading early, Lim slipped to last among the five skaters before making his final spurt in the final lap. The Dutch skater won gold and Sun claimed silver. The teen skater's bronze medal was South Korea's first in short-track speed skating and the country's fourth overall, following snowboarders Kim Sang-gyeom, who won silver in the men's parallel giant slalom, Yoo Seung-eun, who won bronze in the women's big air, and Choi Ga-on, who won gold in the women's halfpipe. As of Friday, South Korea ranked 11th in the overall medal tally with one gold, one silver and two bronze medals. Norway took the top spot with seven gold medals, followed by Italy with six. 2026-02-13 09:57:27
  • South Korea’s Lim Jong-eon wins bronze in men’s 1,000 at Milan Olympics
    South Korea’s Lim Jong-eon wins bronze in men’s 1,000 at Milan Olympics South Korea’s Lim Jong-eon, a 19-year-old considered a rising star on the men’s short track team, won his first Olympic medal with a late surge to take bronze in the men’s 1,000 meters. Lim finished in 1 minute, 24.611 seconds in the final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy. He was the only South Korean skater to reach the final, racing against Jens van ’t Wout of the Netherlands, Sun Long of China and William Dandjinou of Canada. Lim stayed in the top three early but was pushed to last in the five-man field as the pace increased. He waited for an opening, and the decisive move came on the final lap. Using his trademark outside line, Lim swung wide and accelerated. He passed Roberts Kruzebergs of Latvia in the first corner, then edged past Dandjinou in the final turn to finish third. Van ’t Wout won gold and Sun took silver. Lim delivered South Korea’s first short track medal of these Games and became the team’s fourth medalist overall, following snowboarders Choi Ga-on, Kim Sang-gyeom and Yoo Seung-eun. In the same event, Shin Dong-min placed fifth in his semifinal heat and finished third in the B final. Hwang Dae-heon, a medal contender, was disqualified after receiving a penalty in his quarterfinal heat.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-13 06:33:00
  • South Korea women’s curling team beats host Italy 7-2 for first win at Milan-Cortina 2026
    South Korea women’s curling team beats host Italy 7-2 for first win at Milan-Cortina 2026 South Korea’s women’s curling team, known as Team 5G (Gyeonggi Provincial Government), earned its first win of the tournament by routing host Italy. Skip Kim Eun Ji, third Kim Min Ji, second Kim Su Ji, lead Seol Ye Eun and alternate Seol Ye Ji beat Italy 7-2 in the second round-robin game of the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics on Thursday (Korea time) at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. South Korea rebounded after a shaky start, having lost 8-4 to the United States in its opener a day earlier. The win left the team 1-1. The early ends were cautious. South Korea, with last stone in the first end, came away scoreless, then broke through with one point in the second. In the third, South Korea stole a point while throwing first to go up 2-0. The turning point came in the sixth. Leading 3-1, South Korea posted a four-point end to stretch the margin to 7-1. Italy got one back in the seventh, but conceded with the gap at five points.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-13 06:00:00
  • Choi Min Jung Misses Women’s 500m Final After Crash at Milan-Cortina Olympics
    Choi Min Jung Misses Women’s 500m Final After Crash at Milan-Cortina Olympics South Korea’s women’s short track team came up empty in the 500 meters at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, with star Choi Min Jung failing to reach the final after a collision in the semifinals. Choi (Seongnam City Hall) finished fifth out of five in semifinal heat 2 at the Milan Ice Skating Arena, clocking 43.060 on Friday (Korea time). After advancing comfortably by winning her quarterfinal, Choi got off to a strong start in the semifinal and led until three laps remained, appearing on track for a final berth. But after Canada’s Kim Boutin closed in, Choi became tangled with Canadians Courtney Sarault and Florence Brunelle on the final lap, lost her balance and dropped to last. Officials reviewed the contact on video but assessed no penalty to the Canadian skaters, leaving Choi to move to the B final (classification race). She later placed second in the classification race. Kim Gil Li (Seongnam City Hall) and Lee So Yeon (Sports Toto) were eliminated earlier in the quarterfinals. In the final, Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands won in 41.609.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-13 05:51:00
  • Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida wins women’s 5,000 gold for second 2026 Milan-Cortina title
    Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida wins women’s 5,000 gold for second 2026 Milan-Cortina title Francesca Lollobrigida, 35, delivered another gold for host Italy, edging the women’s 5,000 meters by 0.1 seconds to become a two-time champion at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Lollobrigida won Friday at the Milan Ice Skating Arena, finishing in 6:46.17. Skating in the final pairing against veteran Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic, Lollobrigida surged late despite fading legs, closing her last lap in 31.86 seconds. She caught and passed Merel Conijn of the Netherlands, who finished in 6:46.27, to take the gold in a dramatic finish. It was the first time an Italian has won Olympic gold in the women’s 5,000. With Lollobrigida, who has returned to competition after giving birth, Italy now have six gold medals, closing on overall leader Norway with seven. Lollobrigida is also entered in the remaining women’s mass start, where she will try for a third gold of the Games.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-13 03:21:00
  • Teen snowboarder reaches mens halfpipe final
    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 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