First victory at Harbin Winter Games
South Korea's speed skater Park Ji-won (right) raises his finger in excitement after confirming victory in the final round of the short track mixed 2,000m relay at the Harbin Asian Winter Games at the Heilongjiang Ice Events Training Center Multifunctional Hall in Harbin, northeastern China, Saturday.
The win marks South Korea's first gold medal at the event. The 28-year-old skater competed alongside Choi Min-jeong, Kim Gil-li, and Kim Tae-sung, achieving a record time of 2:41.534. They were followed by teams from Kazakhstan, Japan, and China, who finished second, third, and fourth, respectively.
Finals for the women's and men's 1,500m and 500m events are scheduled later on Saturday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
13-04-2025
- Korea Herald
High schooler wins nat'l Olympic short track trials
A high school senior won the South Korean Olympic short track speed skating trials that wrapped up Sunday, earning a chance to represent the country at the 2026 Winter Games in Italy. Rim Jong-un, 17, finished first overall among male skaters with 102 points after two rounds of the 2025-2026 season national team trials at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul. Rim shot to first place after the opening phase, thanks to his victory in the 1,500 meters, a runner-up finish in the 1,000m and a 17th-place showing in the 500m. Then, in the second stage, Rim once again captured the 1,500m title while finishing third in the 500m and 10th in the 1,000m. Rim won two gold medals at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Junior Short Track Championships in February, and he has made the senior national team for the first time. Hwang Dae-heon, the 2022 Olympic champion in the 1,500m, finished second overall to Rim with 89 points. Hwang, 25, had come up short in the national team trials for the 2024-2025 season while also causing controversy by committing a series of fouls on teammate Park Ji-won at ISU World Cup, world championships and national team trials. Shin Dong-min, a triple gold medalist at last year's world juniors, finished third in the trials with 55 points. The 20-year-old will also be making his senior international debut. The top three finishers for men will skate in individual events and relays at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The next two skaters in the trials, Lee Jeong-min and Lee June-seo, will only be eligible for the relays. Park Ji-won, a three-time world champion who has also won three overall World Cup titles, finished well out of contention at the trials. Despite his decorated international resume, Park has never skated at an Olympics. On the women's side, Kim Gil-li, the 2024 ISU World Cup overall champion, won the trials with 128 points, followed by Noh Do-hee with 69 points. Three-time Olympic champion Choi Min-jeong secured an automatic berth by winning an individual gold medal at the world championships last month, and only Kim and Noh earned the right to skate in individual events at the Olympics through the trials. Lee So-yeon and Shim Suk-hee, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, earned spots for the relays in Italy after finishing third and fourth in the trials. South Korea is the most successful short track country in Olympic history with 26 gold, 16 silver and 11 bronze medals. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
01-04-2025
- Korea Herald
Hanwha Life bolsters support for HLE ahead of 2025 LCK
Hanwha Life is stepping up its backing for Hanwha Life Esports as the team gears up for the 2025 League of Legends Champions Korea season, which kicks off Wednesday. Last year marked a major milestone in the company's esports push, with HLE clinching the LCK summer championship, one of the most coveted titles of the esports scene. Building on that success, Hanwha Life has enhanced player accommodations, offering each member a private room instead of the previous two-per-room setup. The team bus— which serves not only as transport but also as a dedicated recovery space during competitions and a symbol of the HLE brand — has also been upgraded. Last year's LCK victory was the culmination of nearly seven years of dedication to esports for Hanwha Life, securing HLE's first championship since its founding in 2018. The insurer had been the first financial firm to establish its own esports team. At the time, Hanwha Life emphasized its commitment to esports, explaining its decision to build a team rather than simply sponsor one. The move was unexpected, as the local esports scene was struggling with waning popularity, and many companies were pulling back their support. For Hanwha Life, esports presented a strategic opportunity to connect with younger generations — those in their teens to 30s — who are generally less interested in life insurance, particularly amid declining demand for traditional life and savings insurance products. The esports initiative is also part of Hanwha Life's broader strategy to promote its global business, particularly in Southeast Asian markets, where esports is thriving, driven by a young, digitally savvy population. Chief Global Officer Kim Dong-won has led this initiative to bolster the company's regional presence and engage with potential young customers. The company operates in markets such as China and Indonesia, with a particularly strong foothold in Vietnam, where it marked its first cumulative profit in 15 years of operations in 2024. As HLE's popularity grows internationally, Hanwha Life is seeing the benefits. A fan event in Vietnam last July saw 10 times the number of applicants for the 1,500 available spots, reflecting the team's strong following. According to the company, 30 percent of attendees discovered Hanwha Life through the esports team. Hanwha Life has announced plans to hold another fan meeting this year. HLE has already had a strong start to 2025. Ahead of the upcoming LCK championship, the team claimed the inaugural 2025 LCK Cup title in February and triumphed at the 2025 First Stand Tournament, securing its first global victory. At a recent media day for the 2025 LCK, HLE was named the strongest championship contender by rival teams, underscoring the industry's high expectations for the squad. This year, Hanwha Life has adopted the slogan "Great Challengers" for HLE. 'HLE's journey mirrors Hanwha Life's venture into new challenges beyond traditional insurance, such as global expansion and leadership in financial artificial intelligence,' the company said. 'As great challengers, we look forward to HLE and Hanwha Life pursuing their challenges this year.'
Korea Herald
14-02-2025
- Korea Herald
Women's curling team wrap up Asiad with Korea's 16th gold medal
South Korea edged out China in the Harbin Asian Winter Games women's curling event Friday, clinching its 16th gold medal in what has been one of the country's most successful runs in the event. Korea's women's curling team, captained by Gim Eun-ji, defeated the home nation 7-2 at the Harbin Pingfang District Curling Arena in China on Friday. They completed a sweep of the event, going undefeated throughout the knock-out tournament. The last time that Korea won gold for an Asian Games curling event was in 2007. Hopes ran high for Korea to win both the men's and women's curling events, but the men's team fell to the Philippines in the gold-medal match on Thursday. The Philippines pulled away with a 5-3 win, handing Korea their first defeat in the competition. The Korean men's hockey team, who dropped the semifinals match against Japan on Thursday, took home bronze after winning against China on Friday. The women's team, however, fell to Kazakhstan 3-0 in the final match of the round-robin format to finish fourth. Korea surpasses initial goal to finish second overall The women's curling team's gold marked South Korea's 16th gold medal and 44th medal overall in this year's Asian Winter Games, tying the country's record of 16 gold medals won at the 2017 Asian Winter Games. Koreans finished in second place behind China, and comfortably ahead of Japan, in third place with nine gold medals. Korea's performance far surpassed the initial goal of 11 gold medals, even taking some home for events that Korea had never won medals for before. Figure Skater Cha Jun-hwan took a surprise win Thursday in his first Asian Winter Games appearance. Crowned champion of the men's singles event, he became the first Korean male figure skater to win a medal at the Asian Games. Earlier in the day, his teammate Kim Chae-yeon upset three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto in the figure skating women's singles event for her first Asian Game gold medal. It was the first time Korea won both the men's and women's singles figure skating events at the Asian Winter Games. Ekaterina Avvakumova, a naturalized Korean who was born in Russia, won the country's first-ever biathlon gold in the women's 7.5 kilometer run on Tuesday. She won her second medal of the event when her team won silver for the women's 4 by 6 kilometer relay on Thursday. Another surprise win of the Asian Games belonged to snowboarder Kim Geon-hui, who won a gold medal for the men's halfpipe event after the finals scheduled for Thursday were cancelled due to blustery weather conditions at the venue. He was awarded the win based his qualification score of 78.00 points. Kim's compatriot Lee Chae-un, who lost out on a chance to compete for a gold at his primary event, won his first career Asiad win as well with a gold medal in the men's snowboard slopestyle event.
