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This year, Pyeongchang, South Korea will host the Winter Olympics. This tradition dates as far back as 8th century B.C. but became modern as we know it in the 1800s. Years and years of rigorous training gives the Olympics such an allure around the 17-day event. We started to witness last week the intensity the competition holds over our contestants.
The international Olympic committee decides 12 years in advanced on which country will host the Olympics. It would be hubris to not recognize the development South Korea undertook to host such a worldwide event. So to make things easier, these are the South Korean Athletes to look out for this year on tv, on social media, and for the years to come.
Choi Da-Bin
Choi Da-BinDa-Bin, a South Korea native, represents her country as a figure skater. This five-time gold winning South Korean National skater finished sixth with 65.73 points. At the impressive age of 18 years old, her training slowed due to an injury to the right ankle and the loss of her mother last year.
“This was my first Olympics so I was very nervous, but so many people came and cheered for me that I was able to compete and it was a very good experience,” she told reporters.
Seo Yi-Ra
Seo holds many wins under his belt. The entire world will be honing in to watch Yi-Ra a past speed skating national champ. In the recent world championship, he secured the gold in the 1000m, and the silver medal in the 3000m. His outstanding skills stun more than three billion people that watch worldwide.
Seo finished behind Semen Elistraov, a member of Olympic Athletes from Russia, and Canada’s Charles Hamelin with a time of 2:11.126 during the first semifinal race.
Park Guy-Lim
As ski jumper, she could’ve competed in the Olympics under the host country quota rule, but wanted to earn the spot for herself. Park qualified outright for the PyeongChang Olympics when she scored a single point on the World Cup circuit, coincidentally, at the PyeongChang venue in February 2017. No South Korean men made it past the qualification stage at that test event, though three competed.
“But I really tried my best to prepare for this stage. I was happy to feel the support of South Korean fans at the Olympics in PyeongChang,” Park Guy Lim said after her loss in ski jumping.
Timofey Lapshin
Timofey Alekseyevich Lapshin is a biathlete – representing South Korea and Russia. He debuted in the Biathlon World Cup on 9 December 2011 in Hochfilzen, Austria. He won a silver medal at Biathlon Junior World Championships. Lapshin (and his teammate) ranked 30th in the world before the 2018 Winter Olympics began.
Kim Magnus
A South Korean native, Magnus enters the 2018 Olympics at the age of 19 years old. You need to be at least 16 years old to be in the Olympics. He made a name for himself by competing in the Youth League. Competing in his first (and certainly not his last Olympics), Magnus sits at number 43 in the long list of other cross-country skiers.
Yun Sung-Bin
The famous South Korean skeleton star Yun Sung-Bin started his career just a few years ago in 2012. Just three months after the start of his training, he achieved the status most stars can only dream of: a national championship title. Also, he competed in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, his story gives fan every reason to obsess over this skeleton star.
Won Yun-Jong
Yun-Jong definitely has an advantage that many do not. He spent many years in PyeongChang skiing the exact course that he will compete on this week. Won competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics for South Korea. He teamed with brakeman Seo Young-Woo in the South Korea-1 sled in the two-man event, finishing 18th, and with Seo, Jun Jung-Lin and Suk Young-Ji in the four-man, finishing 20th.
Lee Sang-Ho
Competing at 22 years old, Sang-Ho has the opportunity to show his home, South Korea his success year after year. Sang-Ho is the fourth ever South Korean to compete in the Winter Olympics for snowboarding.
Cha Jun-Hwan
Jun-Hwan competes in one of the world’s most watched Olympic Sport – men’s figure skating. He won both the 2017 and 2018 National Championships.
Skating to “Gypsy Dance” from the ballet “Don Quixote,” Cha scored 77.70 points to rank sixth in the men’s singles for the team event held at the Gangneung Ice Arena on the opening day of the PyeongChang Games.
