*This content was translated by AI.
The main team of the South Korean team participating in the 2026 Milan-Cortina D'Ampezzo Winter Olympics has left for Italy, the "land of the showdown."
Lee Soo-kyung, head of the Korean Sports Council, and 45 athletes from the ice skating, snowboarding, skeleton, and biathlon events left for Italy via Incheon International Airport on the afternoon of the 30th.
The 38 members of the main team headed to Milan, which consists of ice sports, will head straight to Milan. Seven members of the main group to Cortina d'Ampezzo, which includes sledding events, will travel to their destination via Paris. In addition to the main team, the team has either moved to their destinations or will leave the country according to their respective game schedules. The snowboarding and luge athletes will stay abroad and head to the finals.
The Milan-Cortina D'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, which will open on the 7th of next month and last until the 23rd in Korean time, will feature 93 National Olympic Committee (NOC) and 3,500 athletes for a total of 116 gold medals in 8 sports and 16 sub-sports.
South Korea will send 130 athletes (71 athletes and 59 executives) in six events to the Winter Olympics. Six more than the previous 65 at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Snowboarding has the largest number of people in each event with 11, followed by short track speed skating with 10 and bobsleigh with 10. There are then eight speed skaters and seven curling and freestyle skis, respectively. There are six figure skaters, three skeleton, alpine skiing, and cross-country skaters, two biathlon, and one luge.
South Korea, which ranked 14th overall with two gold medals, five silver medals and two bronze medals in the Beijing Games, aims to win more than three gold medals in this event.
Before leaving the country, Lee Soo-kyung said, "I'm nervous and excited. I'm checking what I'm missing right now," he said. "It's a big difference from when I left the country as a (figure) player," he said. "My heart is heavier." I keep paying attention because I have to pay more attention to something other than just mine. I'm also nervous," he said with a smile.
South Korea's goal for the Olympics is three gold medals. Lee Soo-kyung said, "I really hope to win three gold medals, and I think there will be a surprise star," adding, "I will support you a lot from behind."
He said, "The players prepared hard for four years. There are rumors that the heat of the Olympics is not as good as before, but I think it will be different when it opens, he said. "There will be a moment when our athletes convey their emotions."
Meanwhile, Cha Jun-hwan (Seoul Metropolitan Government) and Park Ji-woo (Gangwon Provincial Government) will be the flag bearers of the Korean men's single figure skating team at the opening ceremony on February 6 at the Olympic Stadium in Milan, Italy.
"Cabbage Boy" Lee Sang-ho (Nexen Wyngaard), the only Olympic medalist in Korean ski and snowboarding history, and "Short Track Empress" Choi Min-jeong (Seongnam City Hall), who is trying to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals, will lead the Korean team as male and female captains.
After arriving there, the team will begin training for local adaptation such as time difference and environment.
Kim Sun-young (Gangneung City Hall) and Jung Young-seok (Gangwon Provincial Office) of the curling mix double will play their first preliminary match on February 4 to start the Korean team's medal challenge.
For the first time in Olympic history, the Olympics, which will have the names of two cities in the names of the competition, will be distributed in four clusters, and the Korean Olympic Committee will operate local meal support centers in three clusters: Milan, Cortina d'Ampezzo, and Lvigno to maintain the athletes' condition.
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*This content was translated by AI.
