"There has been no gold for 20 years, but..." Scary rookie Im Jong-eon + Hwang Dae-heon from the audience will unite. "The relay of Milan is always running gold." [Jincheon Training Center]

*This content was translated by AI.

The Korean men's short track team has announced that it will bring the relay gold medal for the first time in 20 years since the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics.

On the afternoon of the 7th, the "2026 Milan/Cortina Winter Olympics D-30 Media Day" was held at the Jincheon National Training Center Champions House in Gwanghyewon-myeon, Jincheon-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do. After the event, the training of the Korean short track team was revealed to the reporters, followed by interviews.

Men's short track team captain Lee Joon-seo (Seongnam City Hall), ace Lim Jong-eon (Goyang City Hall), eldest brother Hwang Dae-heon (Gangwon Provincial Office), Shin Dong-min (Korea University), and Lee Jung-min (Seongnam City Hall) expressed their determination for the Olympics.

Men's short track speed skating has not had a good relationship with the Olympic gold medal in relay events. He won the gold medal at the 1992 Albertville Games and the 2006 Turin Games, but did not win the gold medal in the relay for the next 20 years.

Lee Jun-seo said, "Korea won the men's relay gold medal in Italy 20 years ago, and there has been no gold medal so far. The Winter Olympics will be held in Italy again, so I will definitely try to win the gold medal," he said.

"Young players are meeting spiritually, and experienced players are giving advice to each other to fill in the gaps. We are preparing to take advantage of our strengths," he said, confident in good breathing.

Lee Jung-min (Seongnam City Hall), a member of the relay team, also contributed to the captain's words. As (Lee) Jun-seo said, I will aim for the gold medal in the men's relay. "I think it's an opportunity to try for the gold medal because the players have good chemistry and each of them is doing well in their roles," he said.

The players' goals were also clear. The goal of the individual competition is good, but reclaiming the relay gold medal, which all colleagues can laugh with, is also the most valuable. Shin Dong-min (Korea University) said, "Individual competitions are important, but I want to win a gold medal in the relay where we can all perform well and laugh together."

The national team is accompanied by a "scary newcomer" and a "tournament veteran." Lim Jong-eon was a high school student preparing for the Junior World Championship a year ago, but he won the national team selection match and is now the ace of the senior national team.

Lim Jong-eon said, "I had the goal of going as far as I can during the national team selection match. "I never imagined I would play for the national team at the Olympics," he said. "I still can't believe I'm here."

But there is no humility to him on the ice. Lim Jong-eon, who won gold medals in the first and fourth rounds of the world tour, said, "I learned a lot from competing with world-class players in the world tour. I was able to grow by finding what I lacked. "Even if I lack experience, I have gained confidence that I can get good results if I do as much as I have prepared so far," he said.

Hwang Dae-heon, the 'oldest brother', looked at Im Jong-eon with pride. Hwang Dae-heon, who will compete in the third Olympics after 2018 Pyeongchang and 2022 Beijing, asked what advice he wanted to give Lim Jong-eon, saying, "I have nothing to advise because I am doing well enough. It's my first Olympics, so I hope I have a lot of good experiences and go," he said, giving warm encouragement.

Hwang Dae-heon suffered a ligament tear in his left thigh during the fourth World Tour tournament last month. Hwang Dae-heon did not give up despite the bad news ahead of the Olympics.

When asked about his physical condition, Hwang Dae-heon said, "It's not perfect yet, but my goal is to focus on treatment and recover to some extent," adding, "My colleagues are helping me a lot. "I believe that if I believe in myself and move on, I will have good results, and I am working hard to treat and train," he said.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.