(Olympics) Male short trackers miss relay medal in 2nd consecutive Olympics

By Kang Yoon-seung

GANGNEUNG, South Korea, Feb. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's male short track speed skating team finished last in the final of the relay discipline at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, marking the second consecutive Winter Games without a medal in the event.

The South Korean team, consisting of Kwak Yoon-gy, Lim Hyo-jun, Seo Yi-ra, Kim Do-kyoum, along with Hwang Dae-heon, finished last in the final of the men's 5,000m relay event held at the Gangneung Ice Arena, located in Gangneung, the sub-host city of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

Despite South Korea being in the second spot for the first half of the race, the disappointing performance came as Lim, the gold medalist of 1,500m event, fell down with around 20 laps to go.

South Korea's male team won gold in the relay at the 2006 Winter Games, followed by silver in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. The male short trackers failed to grab any medals at the Sochi Winter Games.

The team sought to recoup its reputation as a team in PyeongChang, but it now will have to wait for four more years.

In 2006, South Korea's team of Ahn Hyun-soo, Lee Ho-suk, Seo Ho-jin, Song Suk-woo, and late Oh Se-jong captured gold, which was the first time for the country to win gold in the men's relay since the 1992 Winter Games.

At the 2010 Winter Games, the team of Kwak, Kim Seoung-il, Sung Si-bak, Lee Jung-su, and Lee Ho-suk won silver.

In the Sochi Winter Olympics, the South Korean team, which again included Lee Ho-suk, failed to win any medals, even from individual races, making Team Korea even thirstier for the relay medal. Instead, Ahn, who participated as a Russian athlete under the new name Victor An, led his new country's team to gold in the relay.

South Korea's female team earlier won the gold for the women's 3,000m relay at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The champion team of Sochi raked in six gold medals in relay at the Olympics so far.

colin@yna.co.kr
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