(Winter Olympics) ??? short track speed skating

(Winter Olympics) Hopes high for another gold medal haul in short-track skating
By Kim Boram
(This is the third of five articles on South Korea's expected performance at the
Vancouver Winter Olympics.)

SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- They have collected a total of 29 medals in
short-track speed skating events over the past five Winter Olympics, 17 of them
gold, including an all-time high of six golds in Turin four years ago.
Two of their skaters were triple-gold medalists, cementing their country's
reputation.
Now, with the Games in Vancouver quickly approaching, everybody expects to see
them on the winner's stand again.
But South Korea's short-track skaters appear to have a fight ahead of them as
contenders from China and several other nations emerge with strong showings.
Nevertheless, the South Koreans are confident of duplicating the success their
compatriots have achieved over the past decades.
Lee Ho-suk, 23, stands at the front of the 10-man squad, hoping to witness
another gold rush for his country. He dispels doubts that the South Korean team
will lose its status as the world's best in Vancouver in the absence of champions
Ahn Hyun-soo and Jin Sun-yu.
Ahn earned golds in the men's 1,000 meter, 1,500m and 5,000m relay events in the
2006 Turin Olympics, while Jin took the women's 1,000m, 1,500m and 3,000m relay
titles. Both failed to clinch Olympic tickets for Vancouver as they struggled
with injuries.
"I will go for medals in the 1,500m and 1,000m, and hope for another one in the
500m event. We are aiming at another gold in the relay event," said Lee, who was
the runner-up to Ahn at Turin in the 1,000m and 1,500m events. The two shared
gold as teammates in the 5,000m relay.
The 22-year-old Sung Si-bak is also expected to be a major contender as he makes
his Olympic debut. Sung became the national champion in April last year to grab a
berth to Vancouver, beating both Lee and Ahn.
"We will grab all four gold medals in the men's events, an all-time high for the
Olympics," Sung said.
Expectations are more mixed for the South Korean women's squad, as none of its
skaters were able to beat China's Wang Meng in the World Cup competitions. Wang
was the only non-Korean gold medalist of the women's events in Turin, winning the
500m event.
The women's team is determined not to let its legacy slip away.
"Our first goal is to grab the fifth consecutive gold in the 3,000m-relay event.
The second one is to sweep all three medals at 1,500m," said Cho Ha-ri, the
leader of the squad. Lee Eun-byul and Kim Min-jung, who progressed throughout
last year, will likely also be big hits.
The South Korean teams head to Calgary, Canada, on Feb. 4 for a special training
session to put themselves in peak form before taking to the ice in Vancouver.
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)

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