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.
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