(LEAD) (Olympics) Men redeem themselves, women underachieve in short track at PyeongChang 2018

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By Yoo Jee-ho and Kang Yoon-seung

GANGNEUNG, South Korea, Feb. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has been so dominant in short track speed skating for so long that it's difficult to imagine the country ever being shut out of medals at any Olympics.

In fact, the South Korean men's team has drawn blanks at two different Olympic Games. And the skaters made sure it wouldn't happen for a third time on home ice here at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, by winning four medals at Gangneung Ice Arena.

For the men's national team, PyeongChang 2018 was a story of redemption. At the previous Winter Games in Sochi four years ago, no South Korean man won a short track medal -- only the second time that happened at an Olympics, after Salt Lake City 2002.

The South Koreans were reduced to watching their former teammate, Victor An of Russia, grab three gold and one bronze.

With An, formerly Ahn Hyun-soo of South Korea, out of PyeongChang over alleged doping, the South Korean men were in contention in every race.

Lim Hyo-jun, a first-time Olympian, got things rolling by winning the 1,500-meter gold medal on Feb. 10, one day after the opening ceremony. Seo Yi-ra added a bronze in the 1,000m, with Lim taking a fall in the final. And on Thursday, Hwang Dae-heon and Lim each took silver and bronze in the 500m.

Lim, Seo, Kwak Yoon-gy and Kim Do-kyoum entered the 5,000m relay final later Thursday, but Lim fell down without contact midway through the 45-lap race as South Korea finished fourth.

It was a crushing finish to an otherwise strong Olympic campaign for South Korea, as three male skaters reached the podium.

With the men putting themselves back on the map, the South Korean women actually underachieved by winning two gold medals.

Choi Min-jeong herself had two gold medals -- in the 1,500m and 3,000m relay -- though the medal tally could have been even higher.

She would have had silver in the 500m had she not been penalized for impeding in the final. Then in the 1,000m final on Thursday, Choi collided with teammate Shim Suk-hee in the late stretch while trying to make a pass on the outside. Both skaters fell and crashed into the safety padding, and Choi ended up finishing fourth while Shim was penalized for impeding.

Choi, a two-time world overall champion, had set out to pull off an unprecedented gold medal sweep here. And she had every reason to believe she could do it, as she came into her first Olympics ranked No. 1 in the world in all three individual races. With Choi as the anchor, South Korea also ranked first in the world prior to the Olympics.

But short track races are usually unpredictable. Fans are still up in arms over Choi's impeding call on Kim Boutin of Canada in the 500m final. And in the 1,000m final, Choi and Shim were supposed to be battling for first place over the final lap, not crashing into the safety padding together while still in the back of the pack.

Kim Sun-tae, head coach of the short track delegation, thanked his athletes for enduring rigorous training.

"The outcomes are disappointing, but we're going to try to accept them and move on to our next competition," Kim said. "I know the fans were behind us, and we feel bad about these falls and crashes. But these skaters gave everything they had, and I hope the fans will continue to support us."

Kim said what happened to Choi in the 1,000m final can happen to anyone in short track.

"It's disappointing but feeling disappointed doesn't change anything," the coach added. "I think she accepted this. She won two gold medals here and she seems to be content with that."

At least Choi has her two gold medals from here. After two Olympic Games, Shim is still in search of her first individual gold medal. The relay gold was her only medal at PyeongChang 2018. And at the Sochi Games four years ago, Shim, then touted as a teen prodigy who could grab multiple gold medals, ended up taking the relay gold while winning silver in the 1,500m and bronze in the 1,000m.

On a brighter note, Shim and Choi, still just 21 and 19, are very much the present and the future of women's short track here. They will have their chance at redemption in four years' time in Beijing, much as the men did here.

South Korea closed out the short track portion of the Olympics with three gold, one silver, two bronze medals. The host led all participating nations, and Kim said he was proud of his team regardless of the medal tally.

"I know some may see this total as disappointing, but I am still proud of these skaters," he said. "They deserve to be champions."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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