Korea 24 New – Korea advanced to the final of the men’s 5,000-meter relay in short track speed skating at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Monday, moving closer to its first title in 20 years.
The quartet of Lee June-seo, Rim Jong-un, Lee Jeong-min and Shin Dong-min finished first in the second heat of the semifinals over the Netherlands. The top two teams from two groups progressed to the final, with Canada and Italy making it out of Heat 1.
The final will take place Friday.
Korea stayed in the back of the pack in the early stages of the 45-lap race at Milano Ice Skating Arena. South Korea then moved up to second place with nine laps remaining.
Then with six laps to go, Lee Jeong-min made a deft inside pass to push South Korea into the lead. The next man up, Shin Dong-min, pulled away from the pack, and Lee June-seo maintained the lead for South Korea.
Rim then anchored Korea to first place by holding off the Dutch star Jens van ‘t Wout, who won both the 1,000m and 1,500m gold medals in Milan this month.
South Korea’s most recent men’s relay title came at the previous Winter Games held in Italy, Turin 2006.
Rim will go for his second medal in Milan after taking the bronze in the 1,000m. Lee June-seo was a member of the silver medal-winning team at Beijing 2022. Lee Jeong-min and Shin are both going for their first Olympic medals.
Lee June-seo said he and his team successfully executed “more than 90 percent” of their race plans.
“With the ice conditions not ideal, we felt it wouldn’t be easy to take the lead early and stay there,” he said. “So we conserved our energy and then tried to move out in front in the late stages. Everyone played their role to perfection.”
Lee also noted the teammates wanted to give Rim enough of a cushion for the anchor leg.
Lee Jeong-min, who made the crucial pass on the inside, said he made the high-risk, high-reward move with confidence.
“I am only doing the relay here, so this was my first Olympic race. I was pretty nervous right up until the moment before the start gun went off,” he said. “But after a few laps, I started getting all warmed up and settled down.”
Rim competed in the relay semifinals only minutes after being eliminated in the heats of the 500m. The relay is his last remaining event in Milan.
“Hopefully, I will do better in the relay than in my individual events,” Rim said. -Yonhapnews
