Silver Medalist Gwak Yoon-gi: "Felt like stepping on a banana peel, skated with damaged blades"

"Major Slip During Game... Skates Blade Injured at That Moment"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 16th, Kwak Yoon-gi was racing in second place on the final lap of the men's 5000m relay short track final at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics held at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Kwak Yoon-gi, who won a silver medal in the men's short track 5000m relay for the first time in 12 years since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, revealed that he had difficulties due to his skate blades.

The South Korean men's short track team, consisting of Kwak Yoon-gi, Hwang Dae-heon, Lee Jun-seo, Park Jang-hyeok, and Kim Dong-wook, won the silver medal in the 5000m relay final at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics held on the 16th. Kwak Yoon-gi showed a cheerful side by dancing to BTS's "Dynamite" during the informal awards ceremony.

However, Kwak Yoon-gi expressed his regret over not winning the gold medal during a live broadcast on his YouTube channel.

The Korean team, which had been leading from the start, was overtaken by Canada just before the exchange to Lee Jun-seo with 18 laps remaining when Kwak Yoon-gi stumbled. After that, the Korean team could not overtake until the end of the race and crossed the finish line in second place.

Kwak Yoon-gi said, "I had a big slip around the middle of the race," adding, "My skate blade was severely damaged at that moment. It was so bad that skating seemed impossible. I don't know how I managed to hold on."

He continued, "There was a chance to overtake on the inside at 9 laps, but when I put my left foot on the ice, I kept slipping as if stepping on a banana peel," and said, "I wanted to tell others that my blade was damaged, but I couldn't because I thought about the other players," adding, "I just ran with the thought of not falling." He also expressed his frustration, saying, "I am so upset that I couldn't give it my all."

Furthermore, Kwak Yoon-gi said, "I could have pushed forward, but I couldn't, and that is very disappointing," and expressed his apology to his juniors, saying, "I'm very sorry to the younger players."

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