S. Korean speed skaters make bid for elusive gold

(Winter Olympics) speed skating


VANCOUVER, Feb. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korean speed skaters were preparing Monday
for the men's 500-meter event in Vancouver as they aim to bring home the
country's first gold medal outside the short track speed skating event.

The country has so far won two silvers and one bronze in speed skating events so
far in the Olympics.
Lee Kyou-hyuk is leading the South Korean team in his fifth Winter Olympic games.

Despite being hailed as one of South Korea's strongest candidates for gold during
the Winter Olympics since 1994, the 32-year-old has failed to claim a spot on the
podium in each of his apprearances at the games. Lee won three of the last four
world championships and finished fourth at the Turin Games four years ago.
Having won the 2010 World Sprint Speed Skating Championships held in Japan last
month and the 1,000-meter event in two races, he is tipped as a favorite for the
gold medal in Vancouver.
One of his toughest rivals is expected to be world-record holder Jeremy
Wotherspoon of Canada, who will end his Olympic career in front of a home crowd.
The four-time sprint world champion also holds three 500m titles at the single
distance world championships and a 1,000m world gold, though has only managed one
Olympic silver medal at the Nagano Olympics in 1998.
Fellow South Korean Lee Kang-seok is also aiming for his second Olympid medal.
The 25-year-old won the bronze in Turin and is at the top of the World Cup
rankings in the 500-meter event. He finished second in the 1,000m at the latest
world championship competition in Japan.
His bronze in the men's 500-meter event at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics marked
the second medal for South Korea in the event since Kim Yoon-man took silver in
the 1,000m race at the 1992 Albertville Games.
Lee Seung-hoon took the silver medal in the men's 5,000-meter speed skating
competition on Saturday, becoming the first Asian skater to win a medal in the
long-distance speed skating event at the Olympics.
Out of the 31 medals held by South Korea from the Winter Games, 29 have come from
short track speed skating events, with speed skaters accounting for the remaining
two. None have won gold.
Other contenders include Joji Kato and Keiichiro Nagashima of Japan, Mika Poutala
of Finland and Tucker Fredericks of the United States. South Koreans Mun Jun and
Mo Tae-bum will also be competing.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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