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.
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