*This content was translated by AI.
Lim Jong-eon (19, Goyang City Hall), a member of South Korea's national short track speed skating team who will compete in the 2026 Milan/Cortina D'Ampezzo (Italy) Winter Olympics, has been selected as a "rising star" to pay attention to this competition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The IOC said on the 3rd, "The all-time Winter Olympics has been a stage for emerging newcomers to attract attention and promote themselves to the world. With the opening of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics just around the corner, the eyes are on the next generation," he said, highlighting 10 newcomers to watch at the event, including Im Jong-eon.
The IOC said, "Lim Jong-eon is an athlete who made the Korean Olympic team by winning the national team selection match at the age of 17. In April last year, he ranked first in two Korean national team trials in Seoul. "I beat Hwang Dae-heon, the men's 1,500m short track champion at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics," he said.
Lim Jong-eon also won the men's 1,500m gold medal at the World Junior Championships last year and won his third world title. It was also the second consecutive victory at the Dansk tournament, he said. "He made a splendid appearance on the senior stage through the ISU World Tour from 2025 to 2026. He won the 1,500-meter title and 1,000-meter silver medal at the Montreal event in October last year, and the 1,000-meter title at the Dordrecht event in November. He added, "I will play as a member of the Korean national team in the short track speed skating of this competition."
In fact, Im Jong-eon won a total of five medals, including two gold medals, at the 2024 Junior World Championships and won four gold medals at the Junior World Championships last year. In last year's national team selection match, which featured famous stars, it became a big topic as he participated as a high school student and ranked first overall.
Lim Jong-eon won five gold medals, three silver medals, and one bronze medal in the individual and relay races in the world tour alone, including two gold medals in the men's 1,500m and 5,000m relay from the first ISU World Tour event, which was his adult stage debut in 2025-2026. In particular, in the men's 1,500m in the first competition, it caused a stir by beating not only Hwang Dae-heon but also William Dan-nu (Canada) and Sun Long (China).
At the D-30 Media Day of the Winter Olympics last month, Im Jong-eon said, "I aimed to go as far as I could go during the national team selection match. I never imagined that I would play for the national team at the Olympics. "I can't believe I'm still here," he said, "I learned a lot from competing with world-class players on 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.
Im Jong-eon will compete in the men's 1,500-meter, 1,000-meter and 5,000-meter relay races in this competition to hunt for medals. In addition to Im Jong-eon, the IOC listed Alessandro Barbieri (18) of the U.S. snowboard halfpipe event, Mia Brooks (19) of the U.K. snowboard big air/slope style, and Indra Brown (16) of the Australian freestyle ski as newcomers to the event.
<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>
*This content was translated by AI.
