Naturalized Korean Im Hyojun Congratulates "Short Track Gold Medal" Wearing Red Jumper and Thumbs Up

A photo and post that Lin Xiaojun uploaded on his social networking service (SNS).
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] Lin Xiaojun (Korean name Im Hyojun), the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics short track gold medalist who naturalized to China, congratulated the Chinese short track team on winning the mixed relay gold medal.

On the 5th, Lin Xiaojun posted a photo on his social media showing himself wearing a red jumper and giving a thumbs-up. Below the photo, he wrote in Chinese, "Congratulations on China's first gold medal in short track," and added, "Let's applaud and support the Olympic heroes."

Lin Xiaojun's post became a hot topic among Chinese netizens. As of 9 a.m. on the 6th (local time), his congratulatory message had received over 60,000 likes, and "Lin Xiaojun" appeared as a trending search term on Weibo, one of China's social media platforms.

Previously, in June 2019, while training as a member of the South Korean national team, Lin Xiaojun was severely disciplined with a one-year suspension by the Korea Skating Union for a prank in which he pulled down the pants of a younger male teammate. Although he was later acquitted after a legal battle, during the trial he declared his intention to compete in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and naturalized to China.

However, Lin Xiaojun ultimately did not participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics. According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Olympic Charter, "an athlete who changes nationality must wait three years after competing for the previous country in an international competition" before participating in the Olympics, which prevented his participation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.