"Now I want to go to Duumo Square."" Lee Na-hyun settles in the 500m and 1000m 'top 10' at the first Olympics, "Four years later, it's a real podium." [the scene of Milan]

*This content was translated by AI.

Lee Na-hyun (Korea National Sports University), who finished her first Olympic stage, expressed both feelings of relaxation and regret.

Lee Na-hyun ranked 10th out of 30 athletes with a time of 37.86 seconds in the women's 500-meter 13th group at the 2026 Milan-Cortina D'Ampezzo Winter Olympics held at Milan Speed Skating Stadium in Italy on the 15th (local time).

Lee Na-hyun, who was ranked 9th in the women's 1,000m earlier, the highest in Korean women's history, also ranked in the top 10 in the 500m event, confirming her competitiveness on the international stage. Although she was 0.59 seconds apart from the medal record, she did not make it to the podium.

Lee Na-hyun, who was assigned to the 13th group in-course on the day, raced against Kaya Geomek-Nogal (Poland). He got off to a good start by running the first 100m section in 10.47 seconds, but it was regrettable that he failed to increase the acceleration afterwards.

Lee Na-hyun emerged like a comet, sweeping medals in all events, including team sprint gold, 500m silver, and 1,000m bronze, as well as winning the title over Kim Min-sun (Uijeong government) at the 2025 Harbin Winter Asian Games. As he won the bronze medal with a time of 37.03 seconds in the first ISU World Cup tournament this season, he was aiming for a "surprise medal" at the Olympics, but he was promised the next one.

Lee Na-hyun, who met in the mixed zone (joint coverage area) after the game, said, "I'm relieved to be done, but I'm also disappointed. I think I did a good job of what I practiced, but I'm sorry for that because I think it's a record or just my lack of ability."

Regarding the fact that he had a good 100m record in the beginning, but lacked last-minute hindsight, he calmly admitted, "I wanted the out course to take place, but I can't help it," adding, "I'm trying hard to supplement everything from the background, but I think I'm just lacking."

Although she did not have a medal, Lee Na-hyun proved to be the future of the Korean ice speed by making it into the "top 10" in both the 500m and 1,000m in this competition. "I was very hopeful in a way, maybe because both events were in the top 10," he said. "There are still many areas to develop, so I thought I could be in the real podium if I take it step by step."

"As soon as the match was over, I thought a lot to myself, 'I want to come back as a really improved player in four years and stand in the podium,' and I think I want to work harder," he added.

When the fierce match ended, he also revealed his simple wish as a 21-year-old youth. When asked, "What do you want to do the most now?" Lee Na-hyun laughed, saying, "I want to go sightseeing first."

"I've never been able to go around, so I want to go to Duomo and eat tiramisu," he said. "It's not that I haven't eaten yet, but I want to eat more and go to a delicious restaurant and eat Western food," he said. "I enjoyed it in the athletes' village, but it was a little too much to go outside, so I'm going to enjoy it a little bit without really exercising."

Finally, Lee Na-hyun emphasized, "It is an indispensable experience and a really good practice in my future career." He will return home on the 20th and tighten his skate straps again for the sprint championships.

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*This content was translated by AI.