"3 Golds" South Korean Delegation Returns from Milan-Cortina Olympics

The South Korean delegation, which finished 13th overall at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics with 3 gold medals, 4 silver medals, and 3 bronze medals, returned home on the 24th.

Yu Seungmin, President of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, delegation chief Lee Sookyung (President of the Korea Skating Union), and the main contingent of the Korean team, including the short-track, speed skating, figure skating, bobsleigh, and curling national squads, arrived at Incheon International Airport that afternoon.

Short-track skaters Choi Minjeong (Seongnam City Hall) and Hwang Daeheon (Gangwon Provincial Government), who served as flagbearers at the Closing Ceremony, led the delegation side by side holding the Taegeukgi, while athletes from each discipline, including double gold medalist short-track skater Kim Gilli (Seongnam City Hall), greeted the large number of reporters and fans with bright smiles and waves.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young presented bouquets to Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Yu Seungmin and delegation chief Lee Sookyung, and in his welcome speech he encouraged the athletes, saying, "The perseverance and spirit of challenge our athletes have shown have become a source of pride for the people of the Republic of Korea."

South Korea's short-track national team members Choi Minjeong, Hwang Daeheon and others from the delegation that finished the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics are returning home on the 24th via Incheon International Airport Terminal 2. [Yonhap News]

Newly elected International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes' Commission member Won Yunjong, who returned with the Korean delegation, said, "The election period was long, but thanks to all your support and encouragement, I think we were able to achieve a good result," and added, "I will work hard for the development of sports in the Republic of Korea."

The Korean team achieved its target of three gold medals but fell short of its other goal of finishing inside the top 10. However, it increased its total medal count by one compared to the 2022 Beijing Games and moved up one spot in the rankings.

On the women's short-track team, youngest member Kim Gilli captured the title in the women's 1,500 m, denying senior teammate Choi Minjeong a historic third consecutive Olympic gold in an individual event. Kim then teamed up with Choi and others to win gold in the women's 3,000 m relay, becoming the only double champion in the Korean delegation at these Olympics. She also took bronze in the 1,000 m, collecting three medals at this edition of the Games. Kim was selected as the delegation's Most Valuable Player (MVP) by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee.

The other gold medal came from snowboarding. Choi Gaon, a female high school snowboarder born in 2008, fought through injury in the women's halfpipe final to edge out Chloe Kim of the United States, who was aiming for a third straight Olympic title, and claimed the gold medal.

In the men's parallel giant slalom in snowboarding, Kim Sangkyum captured his first Olympic medal, a silver, in his fourth Olympic appearance. It was the first medal of these Games for the Korean delegation and also marked Korea's 400th medal in the combined history of the Summer and Winter Olympics.

On the men's short-track team, youngest member Lim Jong-eon also collected two medals. He won bronze in the men's 1,000 m and silver in the men's 5,000 m relay. Hwang Daeheon, who had won bronze in the 500 m at the PyeongChang 2018 Games and gold in the 1,500 m at the Beijing 2022 Games, added a silver in the 1,500 m at these Olympics, earning an individual medal at three consecutive Olympic Games.

Short-track maintained its reputation as Korea's "medal powerhouse," earning 2 golds, 3 silvers, and 2 bronzes, while snowboarding also emerged as a new medal-rich discipline, with Choi Gaon, Kim Sangkyum, and Yu Seungeun winning one gold, one silver, and one bronze medal respectively.

The next Winter Olympics will be held in 2030 in the French Alps, and prior to that, the 2029 Winter Asian Games are scheduled to take place in Kazakhstan.