[Olympics] 'Fallen Park Jang-hyeok' Short Track Mixed Relay, Eliminated in Heats... First Medal Missed

Aiming to Be the Inaugural Champion of the Beijing Winter Olympics Mixed Relay but Eliminated in the Qualifiers

On the afternoon of the 5th, the first heat of the quarterfinals for the mixed relay 2000m short track event was held at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China. Lee Yu-bin of South Korea is sprinting. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The South Korean short track speed skating team failed to advance to the semifinals after falling in the newly introduced 2000m mixed relay preliminary round.

On the 5th, at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics short track 2000m mixed relay quarterfinals, South Korea finished 3rd in Heat 1.

South Korea was represented by Choi Minjeong (24, Seongnam City Hall), Lee Yubin (20, Yonsei University), Park Janghyuk (24, Sports Toto), and Hwang Daeheon (23, Gangwon Province Office).

Placed in Heat 1 alongside China, Poland, and Italy, South Korea's first runner Choi Minjeong started in 3rd place but dropped to 4th. The next runner Lee Yubin moved up to 3rd place. Following Park Janghyuk as the third runner, the final runner Hwang Daeheon further closed the gap.

After receiving the baton, Choi Minjeong followed closely behind Italy and China, and Lee Yubin handed over to Park Janghyuk in 3rd place. However, Park Janghyuk fell with two laps remaining and was unable to make the touch. Much later, Hwang Daeheon made the exchange, but South Korea failed to overtake and finished 3rd in the heat with a time of 2 minutes 48.308 seconds.

In the mixed relay, the top two teams from each of the three heats and the two fastest third-place teams advance to the semifinals. South Korea, finishing 3rd in Heat 1, was eliminated after trailing Kazakhstan (2:43.004) from Heat 2 and the United States (2:39.043) from Heat 3, both third-place teams. China took 1st place, and Italy came in 2nd.

The mixed relay, newly introduced in this Olympics, features four athletes per team?two men and two women. Since it is the shortest relay distance, teams strong in sprinting have an advantage. South Korea aimed to become the inaugural champion in the mixed relay at the Beijing Games but was thwarted by the ice conditions, resulting in a bitter defeat.