'Injured Kim Ki-li is fortunate' 韓충격탈락 Shock eliminated → Choi Min Korea "Due to the nature of short track events with many variables..." [Milan Olympics]

*This content was translated by AI.

Choi Min-jeong (28, Seongnam City Hall), who suffered a bad luck elimination in the mixed relay race, showed her regret and prepared for the next one.

The Korean short track mixed relay team consisting of Choi Min-jeong and Kim Gili (22, Seongnam City Hall), Hwang Dae-heon (27, Gangwon Province Office) and Lim Jong-eon (19, Goyang City Hall) failed to advance to the final in the second group of the 2000m relay semifinals at the 2026 Milan-Cortina D'Ampezzo Winter Olympics held at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy on the 10th (Korea time). In the subsequent Final B (ranking match), the national team crossed the finish line in second place and finished the day in the final sixth place.

It was bad luck itself. The 12th lap. Corinne Stoddard of the United States, who was leading the way, fell. However, Stoddard fell and blocked Kim Ki-li's main road, a Korean runner. Kim Ki-li tripped and fell without avoiding Stoddard, and then collided strongly with the fence. Kim Ki-li, who fell, immediately regained his senses and touched the next runner, Choi Min-jeong, but in fact, the game had already been tilted. At the time of the fall, South Korea was in third place, so the referee did not make an advanced decision.

In the end, Korea failed to advance to the final with a time of 2:46.57 after Canada (2:39.607) and Belgium (2:39.974).

According to News 1, Newsis, Choi Min-jeong met with reporters in the mixed zone after the game and tried to soothe her regret, saying, "It is inevitable due to the nature of the event." Kim Ki-li, who is worried about his injury due to the collision, did not appear in the mixed zone.

Choi Min-jeong said, "We were running third. The U.S. player fell, and (Kim Gili) tripped over it as he couldn't avoid it. It is inevitable due to the nature of short track events with many variables," he said, expressing his regret.

"If we were in second place, we would have been advanced. In the end, if you do well, you all did well, and if you don't, you all didn't do well. I think we've all done something wrong today," he recalled.

Choi Min-jeong said, "My goal was to bring a good flow in the first event, but I'm sorry I couldn't. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, I and (Hwang) Dae-heon achieved good results by overcoming really difficult times. After the game, we pledged to do better with each other," he said.

At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, four years ago, Park Jang-hyuk fell during the race in the quarter-final in the mixed relay event and failed to reach the semifinals. Still, since then, Korea has won two gold medals and three silver medals, showing its potential to rank No. 1 overall in short track events.

"I wasn't lucky in the mixed relay today. I think there will be times when I'm lucky on other days. Now the first event is over. I will prepare well so that I can do well in the next event," he said, renewing his determination.

Meanwhile, fortunately, Kim Ki-li was not reported to have been seriously injured. Kim Min-jung, coach of the short track team, said, "Kim Gili has a scratch on her right arm. It is said that the elbow area is slightly swollen, so you should go to the athletes' village for an examination. He said, "I'm fine, I can play." Another official from the short track team also said, "There is a flaw, but it is not enough to worry," adding, "I don't think it will interfere with the game."

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*This content was translated by AI.