[Olympics] Snowboarder Lee Chaewoon Secures Last Spot for Participation

As the Youngest Athlete in the Korean Delegation

Lee Chae-woon (Bongdam Middle School), a ski snowboarder, will join the Korean delegation to the Beijing Winter Olympics belatedly. The Korea Ski Association announced on the 4th that Lee Chae-woon will compete in the men's snowboard halfpipe event at this competition through an additional quota. Lee Chae-woon, who is training in Laax, Switzerland, will undergo a COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and move to China on the 7th. He is scheduled to race on the snow in the qualifiers on the 9th.

Lee Chae-woon is a player who won the bronze medal in the men's snowboard halfpipe at the International Ski Federation (FIS) Junior World Championships in March last year. Last month, he placed 8th (264.30 points) and 17th (168.60 points) in two World Cup events. His world ranking is 36th. With this addition, he became the youngest member of the Korean delegation. His birthday is April 11, 2006. He is the second youngest athlete overall in this competition, following figure skater Kamila Valieva (born April 26, 2006).

With Lee Chae-woon's addition, the number of Korean athletes participating in this competition has reached sixty-five. Originally, there were sixty-one, but earlier, speed skater Park Seong-hyun (Korea National Sport University), skier Han Da-som (Gyeonggi Province Office), and skier Kim So-hee (High1) earned Olympic spots through additional quotas.