Team South Korea receives their silver medals for short track speed skating men's 5000 meters relay at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20. AP-Yonhap
MILAN — South Korea seized the silver medal in the men's short track speed skating relay at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Friday.
The quartet of Rim Jong-un, Lee Jeong-min, Lee June-seo and Hwang Dae-heon finished behind the Netherlands at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on Friday for South Korea's second straight silver in the men's 5,000-meter relay. Italy grabbed the bronze medal.
This was the final day of the short track competition at this year's Olympics.
Rim, who won the 1,000m bronze, and Hwang, the 1,500m silver medalist, each finished the competition with two medals. This was the first Olympic medal for both Lee Jeong-min and Shin Dong-min, a fifth member of the team who skated in the semifinals and was thus awarded the silver after the final. Lee June-seo has now won his second straight relay medal, after teaming up for silver in 2022 in Beijing.
South Korea has now won eight medals so far at the Olympics here, including five in short track.
With Lee June-seo as the leadoff, South Korea started the 45-lap race carefully, content to sit in the back of the pack as the Netherlands, Canada and Italy took turns grabbing the lead.
The race picked up speed with 18 laps to go as Lee Jeong-min moved into second place. Six laps later, Lee made a deft inside pass to put South Korea in the lead.
Rim kept South Korea in front and Lee June-seo did the same. But with eight laps remaining, Hwang was passed by a Dutch skater.
Lee Jeong-min couldn't quite make a pass on Melle van 't Wout of the Netherlands, but Rim managed to keep South Korea in second place as the next skater.
Source: Korea Times News
