South Korean women’s short track standout Kim Gil-ri (Seongnam City Hall) vowed to “sweep the gold medals” at the fourth edition of the 2023-2024 International Ice Skating Union (ISU) Short Track World Cup, which will be held at home.
The Korean short track team made the pledge at a media day held at the Mokdong Ice Rink Press Center in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday.
“It’s a home event, so we’ll make up for our mistakes and try to win multiple medals,” said Kim Gil-ri, the youngest member of the team, who is ranked No. 1 in the women’s overall rankings this season.
“The word ‘national team ace’ puts a lot of pressure on me,” Kim said, “so I trained harder with the idea of giving a great performance.” “I hope to do my best and win the crystal globe by the sixth competition,” she added.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the World Cup last season, the ISU awarded a special trophy, the Crystal Globe, to the men’s and women’s overall winners of the first through sixth editions of the World Cup, and Park Ji-won (Seoul Metropolitan Government) was the inaugural winner on the men’s side.
“I’m still hot from my good performance at the World Championships in Mokdong in March,” said Park Ji-won, “and I’m motivated to keep the momentum going as it’s a place I’m familiar with and have good memories of.”
“It’s my first time competing in an international event on home soil, so I’m nervous and excited,” said Kim Gun-woo (Sportsoto), who has been ranked No. 1 in the men’s overall rankings this season.
“I was lucky in the first three World Cup events after a long time,” he said, adding, “I want to perform better in the fourth event and win the crystal globe.”
Ahn Joong-hyun, who leads the short track team, said he would like to improve the relay.
“The relay has been a little bumpy and we’ve been missing a few moments, but it’s coming together. We will recover and prepare well and perform well,” he said. “We will do well at home and carry the momentum to the fifth and sixth World Cups and the World Championships next March.”
He also revealed that Hwang Dae-heon (Gangwon Province) is recovering from a psychological blow after being threatened by Chinese fans during the third World Cup in Beijing, China, last week.
Ahn said, “After the first day’s game, something untoward happened in the hostel. The Chinese fans were caught on camera mocking Hwang Dae-heon, and we complained to the ISU.” “Booing in the stadium is one thing, but chasing an athlete to his hostel like a terrorist is a serious problem,” Ahn said.
He added, “Hwang Dae-heon’s expression has brightened since he returned home and his body is in good shape,” and he expects him to perform well at the Games.
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the national athletes and coaches who are sweating for the Short Track World Cup,” said Yoon Hong-geun, president of the Korean Ice and Snow Sports Federation. “I hope the public will come to see the athletes and enjoy the event.”
The fourth edition of the 2023-2024 ISU Short Track World Cup will be held at the Mokdong Ice Rink in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, for three days starting on March 15.
It will be six years since South Korea hosted the Short Track World Cup in November 2017.
Korea’s men’s team consists of Park Ji-won, Kim Gun-woo, Hwang Dae-heon (Gangwon Provincial Office), Jang Jang-woo (Korea University), Lee Jung-min (Korea Gymnastics University) and Seo Ira (Hwaseong City Hall).
The women’s team will include Kim Gil-ri, Lee So-yeon (Sportsnet), Park Ji-won (Jeonbuk Provincial Office), Park Ji-yoon (Uijeongbu City Hall), Seo Hui-min (Korea University) and Shim Seok-hee (Seoul City Hall).
Korea will compete in the men’s and women’s 500, 1,000 and 1,500 meters, the men’s 5,000-meter relay, the women’s 3,000-meter relay and the mixed 2,000-meter relay as they look to strike gold at home. 슬롯게이밍