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.
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