Lee Seung-hoon of Korea National Sport University, the first South Korean to reach an Olympic freestyle ski halfpipe final, withdrew after injuring his knee in practice.
Lee scored 76 points in men’s halfpipe qualifying on Feb. 20 (local time) at Livigno Snow Park in Italy at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. He placed 10th to advance to the final, where only 12 of 25 skiers qualified, but he was unable to compete because of the injury.
Lee hurt his right knee when he struck the pipe wall while practicing an 1,800-degree spin he had prepared for the Olympics. He skipped the first final run and waited to see if the injury would improve, hoping to start in the second or third run, but ultimately withdrew and ended his competition.
Halfpipe is judged on aerial tricks performed on a semicylindrical slope. Choi Ga-on won gold in snowboard halfpipe at these Games, South Korea’s first gold medal in a snow event.
Lee competes in the ski halfpipe event and had drawn attention with strong recent results. He won South Korea’s first World Cup bronze medal in freestyle skiing in February 2024 in Calgary, Canada, and took gold in men’s halfpipe at the Harbin Asian Winter Games last February.
At the Beijing Winter Olympics four years ago, he finished 16th in qualifying and did not reach the final.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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