Cha Jun-hwan finishes fourth in Olympic men’s figure skating, won’t call it his last Games Cha Jun-hwan (Seoul City Hall) finished fourth in men’s singles at his third Olympics and said he is not ready to put a period on his career. Cha posted a total score of 273.92 points to place fourth in the men’s singles free skate at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, which ended at Milan Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 14 (Korea time). He missed the bronze by 0.98 points behind Japan’s Shun Sato (274.90). Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan won gold with 291.58, and Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama took silver with 280.06. In a recent interview with Samsung Electronics after the competition, Cha said, “I had three events at this Olympics, and each one was a ‘decisive moment’ I couldn’t leave out.” He added, “We competed in the team event for the first time in eight years, and I think I achieved everything I set out to do in the individual event. I think it will be an Olympics I remember for a long time.” Cha placed 15th at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, then set a new personal best with fifth at the 2022 Beijing Games. He did not reach the podium in Milan, but his fourth-place finish marked South Korea’s best-ever result in Olympic men’s singles. He is the second South Korean men’s figure skater to compete in three consecutive Olympics, after Chung Sung-il (1988, 1992, 1994). “Going to three Olympics helped me grow my own dream,” Cha said. “Of course, there were moments when I had no choice but to break down. Each time, my family and my coaches helped me back up, so I didn’t have to give up on my dream.” He said he now feels responsibility as a senior member of the national team. “I want to think about the younger skaters and encourage them,” he said, adding that being a two-time Olympian gave him the strength to keep moving forward. Cha said injuries and setbacks during preparation left him thinking first of rest after the event. “I think I’ve never really had proper rest through three Olympics,” he said. “I want to give myself a break.” Cha also pushed back on talk that Milan was his final Olympics, leaving open the possibility of a fourth appearance. “Even before the Olympics started, people used the phrase ‘last dance,’ but I’ve never said that myself,” he said. He added that he could not predict what would come four years later even after Beijing. “I just went season by season, and I ended up in Milan,” he said. “Four years is a long time, so I can’t even imagine the 2030 Alps Olympics right now. I believe that if I keep living my life, I’ll find my ‘path.’” Asked to sum up the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics in one word, Cha answered “Piantao,” which he said is Spanish for “crazy.” He said it is a line he has long liked from the lyrics of his free-skate music, “Ballad for a Madman.” “It’s shouted three times in the song, and that feeling comes across as very real and honest,” he said. After completing his Olympic schedule, Cha is set to skate in the figure skating gala show on Feb. 22 as an invited athlete from the International Skating Union (ISU).* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-20 05:00:38

South Korea’s Lee congratulates Won Yoon-jong on election as IOC athletes’ commission member President Lee Jae-myung sent congratulations to Won Yoon-jong, a bobsledder elected as a new International Olympic Committee athletes’ commission member. In a late-night social media post on the 19th, Lee welcomed the news from the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics site, writing that he was pleased to see a third South Korean chosen as an IOC athletes’ commission member. Won received 1,176 votes to lead 11 candidates, according to results announced on the 19th (Korean time) at the Milan athletes’ village delegation meeting hall (CDM). He won 1,176 of 4,786 valid ballots cast by 2,393 voters, meeting the election threshold awarded to the top two vote-getters. He becomes the third South Korean to serve on the commission, after Moon Dae-sung (taekwondo) and Yoo Seung-min (table tennis). In his message, Lee noted that Won won a silver medal in four-man bobsleigh at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and helped lift South Korean bobsleigh into the world’s top tier. Lee also said Won later served as an athletes’ representative with the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, consistently speaking up for athletes’ rights. Lee said finishing first in votes amid intense competition reflected Won’s leadership, trust and sincerity on the international stage, adding that the government would actively support his work as an IOC athletes’ commission member. Won is set to undergo nomination and approval procedures at an IOC session on the 22nd. He will be formally introduced as a new member at the Milan Winter Olympics closing ceremony the same day and will begin his official term on the 23rd. 2026-02-20 02:51:00

South Korea’s Jeong Jae-won takes 14th in Olympic 1500m ahead of mass start South Korean speedskater Jeong Jae-won used the men’s 1,500 meters as a tune-up ahead of his main event, the mass start. Jeong, 25, finished 14th in 1 minute, 45.80 seconds on Thursday (Korea time) at the Milan Speed Skating Stadium at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. He had planned to skate only the mass start on Friday, but entered the 1,500 to sharpen his race feel and check the ice. Starting from the inside lane, Jeong went through 300 meters in 24.45 seconds and increased his speed in the second half to finish steadily. “It’s been a while since I raced the 1,500 on the international stage, so it felt a bit unfamiliar, but the time wasn’t bad,” Jeong said. “I’m satisfied because it feels like my preparation for the mass start is going well.” He added, “At this Olympics, I feel a strong sense of mission and responsibility,” and said he would prepare “with the determination to stand at the very top.” China’s Ning Zhongyan won gold with an Olympic-record 1:41.98. American Jordan Stolz, who had been aiming for three gold medals at these Games, took silver in 1:42.75, 0.77 seconds behind Ning. Dutch veteran Kjeld Nuis won bronze. Kim Min-seok, competing at these Olympics after switching nationality to Hungary, placed seventh in 1:45.13.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-20 02:30:00

South Korea Women’s Curling Team Falls to Canada, Misses Semifinals at 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics World No. 3 South Korea’s women’s curling team, Gyeonggi Province, failed to reach the semifinals at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. The team — skip Kim Eun-ji, third Kim Min-ji, second Kim Su-ji, lead Seol Ye-eun and fifth Seol Ye-ji — lost 10-7 to Canada on Feb. 19 (Korea time) in its ninth and final round-robin game at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. South Korea entered the match tied for third at 4-4 with Canada and the United States. A win would have clinched a semifinal berth regardless of other results. Instead, South Korea fell to world No. 2 Canada and finished tied for fifth at 5-4. In women’s curling, 10 teams play nine round-robin games, with the top four advancing to the semifinals. Sweden finished first at 7-2. The United States, Switzerland and Canada followed at 6-3 to claim the remaining semifinal spots. South Korea trailed early after giving up one point in each of the first two ends, but took three in the third to move ahead. Canada scored two in the fourth, and South Korea answered with one in the fifth to make it 4-4 at the break. The turning point came in the sixth end. With South Korea facing multiple Canadian stones in scoring position, Kim Eun-ji’s final shot failed to clear them, and Canada scored four to take an 8-4 lead. South Korea scored one in the seventh, then allowed one in the eighth. It pulled within 9-7 with two points in the ninth and looked for a comeback in the 10th, but could not steal, sealing the 10-7 loss. 2026-02-20 02:03:00

Short Track Captain Lee Jun-seo Targets Gold in Men’s 5,000 Relay at Milan Olympics South Korea’s men’s short track team is training with one goal: gold in the 5,000-meter relay final. Team captain Lee Jun-seo said he is ready to do his part in the title bid. Lee spoke after training on Feb. 19 at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy. As captain, Lee has helped set the tone ahead of the final, scheduled for early Feb. 21 in Korea. Asked about tactics, he said he could not share details because it would reveal the team’s plan. Still, he added, “If I race, I’ll push my teammates with everything I have and help our gold-medal challenge.” At 182 centimeters (about 6 feet), Lee is expected to take on the “push man” role — the skater who drives a teammate forward during exchanges to build speed. “We’ve trained countless times, so I’m confident in our teamwork,” Lee said. “We know each other’s roles and strengths well, so I think we can produce a good result in the final.” South Korea’s men have had mixed results at these Games, with Hwang Dae-heon winning silver in the 1,500 meters and the team taking bronze in the 1,000. Lee said a relay win would erase that disappointment. “We started with Jong-eon’s bronze, then Dae-heon won gold, and now it’s our turn to win gold,” he said. He added that South Korea should skate with confidence because it won the most gold medals in the men’s 5,000 relay on the 2025-2026 International Skating Union World Tour. The team won two gold medals across World Tour events 1 through 4 and ranked No. 1 in the world standings. South Korea has not won Olympic relay gold since the 2006 Turin Games. The team will try to end that drought in the final early Feb. 21. 2026-02-19 23:12:00

South Korea’s Won Yoon-jong Elected to IOC Athletes’ Commission South Korean bobsledder Won Yoon-jong has been elected to the International Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Commission, becoming the first South Korean from a winter sport to win a seat. The IOC announced the results Thursday at the athletes village for the 2026 Milano-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics in Milan. Won finished first among 11 candidates. His term will run for eight years, through 2034. Voting was held among Olympic athletes from late January through Feb. 18. Won is South Korea’s third IOC athletes’ representative, following taekwondo gold medalist Moon Dae-sung at the 2004 Athens Olympics and table tennis men’s singles gold medalist Yoo Seung-min, a former president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee. He is the first from a winter Olympic sport. Short-track speed skater Jeon I-kyung ran in the election at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, and sled athlete Kang Gwang-bae ran at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, but neither was elected. With Won’s election, South Korea now has two active IOC members. Kim Jae-yeol, president of the International Skating Union, was elected an IOC member in 2023 and was also elected to the executive board at an IOC session held shortly before the Olympics, the report said.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-19 22:24:00

Short-track skater Kim Gil-li targets individual gold after relay win at Milan Olympics Kim Gil-li, who won gold in the women’s 3,000-meter relay in short track, said she wants to add an individual title as well. After official training at the Milan Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 19, Kim said she is aiming for two gold medals. “I’m hungry for two titles,” she said. “After the team event, I want to go for gold in the individual races, too.” South Korea’s women’s team won the 3,000-meter relay final, with Kim skating the anchor leg and finishing a late comeback. With her bronze medal in the women’s 1,000 meters, she has become a multiple medalist at these Games. Kim now turns to the individual events, including the 1,500 meters on Feb. 21. “I’ll deliver the best performance I can,” she said. She also said she hopes to face teammate Choi Min-jeong in the final. “I’ve always competed with Min-jeong, and I’ve grown a lot watching her,” Kim said. “I want us to reach the final together and compete in good spirit.” Looking back on the relay, Kim said she had carried guilt after falls in earlier races. She said she fell in the women’s 3,000-meter relay final at the 2025 Harbin Asian Winter Games, and also went down in the mixed 2,000-meter relay semifinals at these Olympics after getting tangled with American skater Corinne Stoddard. “I felt really sorry to my older teammates, but winning gold in the women’s 3,000-meter relay let me put that weight down,” she said. Kim said the individual races feel different. “In the individual events, I can focus only on my own race, so I feel more at ease,” she said. “I’m relieved after getting past a big hurdle. With the pressure gone, I’ll show what I can do.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-19 22:03:00

Choi Min-jung Begins Training for 1,500 Meters After Olympic Relay Gold After winning the women’s 3,000-meter relay in short track to claim her fourth career Olympic gold, Choi Min-jung of Seongnam City Hall will race the 1,500 meters on Feb. 21, aiming to set a new South Korean record for most Olympic medals across the Summer and Winter Games. Choi is scheduled to compete at 4:15 a.m. Feb. 21 (Korea time) at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy. A gold medal in the event could rewrite South Korea’s Olympic record book. Choi won gold in the women’s 1,500 meters and the women’s 3,000-meter relay at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. At the 2022 Beijing Games, she won gold in the 1,500 and took silver in the 1,000 and the 3,000-meter relay. With the relay gold at this Olympics, she now has four Olympic gold medals and two silvers. Her latest medal brought her level with Jin Jong-oh (shooting), Kim Soo-nyung (archery) and Lee Seung-hoon (speed skating) for the most Olympic medals by a South Korean athlete across the Summer and Winter Games, according to the report. She also matched short track great Jeon I-kyeong’s South Korean Winter Olympic record of four gold medals. If Choi wins the 1,500, she would set new national records for both total Olympic medals and Winter Olympic golds. Choi returned to the ice to prepare for the 1,500 just 12 hours after winning the relay gold. After training, she told reporters, “Things didn’t go well in the early and middle part of the women’s 3,000-meter relay final, but I think I was able to get through it because so many people cheered for us.” She added, “I want to carry that good energy into the last event, the women’s 1,500, and make sure I get a good result.” On tying Jeon’s record, Choi called her “a senior I respect,” and said, “Because so many seniors, including coach Jeon, set great records, younger athletes like me have been able to follow and take on new challenges.” Choi said she is not focused on records. “I just want to trust myself as usual and do my best,” she said. “I want to finish this Olympics smiling,” she added, saying, “Just like I didn’t cry yesterday, I won’t cry tomorrow either — I’ll get a good result.” * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-19 21:12:00

Iran and US reach preliminary agreement on negotiation principles in Geneva SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) - Iran and the United States have reached a comprehensive agreement on the basic principles for future negotiations following indirect talks held at the Omani Embassy in Geneva, the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in South Korea said Thursday. Seyed Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian Foreign Minister, described this second round of discussions as more serious than previous sessions, noting they took place within a constructive and practical atmosphere. The meetings serve as a critical step in addressing long-standing friction between the two nations regarding nuclear and diplomatic issues. The talks were facilitated by Omani mediation to provide a neutral ground for the two delegations to communicate. Both parties have started drafting a transition agreement and agreed to coordinate the schedule for the next round of meetings following a formal exchange of texts. Despite the progress, officials emphasized that additional efforts are required to resolve remaining points of contention. The diplomatic track was further detailed in a telephone conversation between Professor Seyed Abbas Araghchi and Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The two officials reviewed the status of the indirect negotiations and exchanged views on the essential requirements for establishing a consistent negotiating framework. Director General Grossi provided a positive assessment of the Geneva talks and affirmed the agency's readiness to support ongoing diplomatic initiatives. During a keynote speech at the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Professor Seyed Abbas Araghchi reaffirmed that nuclear weapons represent the most significant threat to humanity. He clarified that the nuclear program of Iran is based entirely on peaceful objectives and stated that nuclear weapons hold no place in the national security doctrine of the country. The foreign minister further stressed the importance of maintaining the technical and neutral character of the IAEA. He committed to continued constructive cooperation with the agency within the framework of legal obligations to ensure a sustainable and balanced agreement that secures the rights of the Iranian people. Iran maintains that it will pursue goal-oriented and result-driven diplomacy to achieve practical outcomes through these sustained diplomatic efforts. 2026-02-19 19:38:31

Men’s Ski Halfpipe Qualifying at Milan 2026 Postponed by Heavy Snow The men’s freestyle ski halfpipe qualifying was postponed because of heavy snow. Olympic organizers said the qualifying round, originally scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (Korea time) on Thursday, was pushed back 24 hours to 6:30 p.m. Friday. South Korea’s Lee Seung-hoon and Moon Hee-sung, both of Korea National Sport University, were set to compete. Halfpipe is judged on aerial tricks performed on a semicylindrical course. In the women’s event, Choi Ga-on of Sehwa High School previously won South Korea’s first gold medal in a snow sport. Ski halfpipe uses skis rather than a snowboard on the same type of pipe. The men’s halfpipe final had been set for 3:30 a.m. (Korea time) on Feb. 21, meaning qualifying and the final would be held on the same day if the schedule otherwise holds. The men’s freestyle ski aerials qualifying and final, scheduled at the aerials moguls park near Livigno Snow Park, were also postponed. No South Korean athletes are entered in that event. Earlier, heavy snow in Livigno on Feb. 17 forced postponements including the women’s snowboard slopestyle final and a ski aerials qualifying round. 2026-02-19 19:36:00