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Pyeongchang, the next venue for our young athletes

Posted February. 25, 2014 09:43,   

한국어

It’s not over yet.

Team Korea returns home from the Sochi Winter Olympic Games on Tuesday. After a short break, they will go back to their busy schedule including competitions and trainings.

Most skaters, including short-track speed, speed, and figure skating, who won medals (three gold, two silver and two bronze medals) will be participate in the Korean national winter sports championships shortly. The 95th winter championships will be held mostly in Seoul, Gangwon Province, and Gyeonggi Province from Wednesday through Saturday. Most athletes in snow sports will also join the championship. Kim Ho-joon of CJ Cheiljedang, a 24-year old player of snowboard halfpipe started training as soon as he returned home on Feb. 15.

More competitions are lined up following the winter championships. The national team of short-track speed skaters will participate in the World Short Track Speed Skating Championship in Montreal, Canada, starting on March 14. Kim Hae-jin, 17, and Park So-yeon, 17, will join the World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan, on Mar. 26. Choi Jae-woo, 20, a free-style ski mogul, prepares for the Peace World Cup in Japan on Thursday. Choi said, “I’m tired but I have to wait by early April when all competitions are over. I have no time to rest until then.”

The Korean national sled team including bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge will take a break for a week and begin trainings for next season. The women’s curling team, which belongs to Gyeonggi Provincial Office, returned to Korea on Saturday and went directly to Euiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, where the pre-game for the winter national championships took place. Jeong Yeong-seop, the coach of the team, said, “The tired players who still have a jet lag made it to the final but was defeated by North Jeolla Provincial Office. They will take a day off and start preparing for the World Championships in Canada on March 15.”

Kim Yu-na, 24, the figure skating legend who announced her retirement after the Olympics, plans to attend various events in Korea. All That Sports, Kim’s management agency, said, “She doesn’t have a specific schedule. But after a break, she’ll participate in events.” Lee Gyu-hyeok, 36, a speed skater who successfully completed his sixth Olympic Games participation, said, “I’m not participating in the winter championships. I’ll take rest while thinking about what to do going forward.”