[The Editors' Verdict] 2024 Winter Youth Olympics Needs More Attention and Support

The opening of the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games is just over four months away. The opening day is January 19 next year, and over 14 days until February 1, champions will be decided in 81 gold medal events across 15 sports. Nearly 2,000 teenagers from more than 70 countries will compete in friendly competition and share friendships on this stage.

Although the event is approaching, it seems to be receiving little public attention, causing unnecessary concern. This is evident even from the sponsorship status. Despite being a national event, only eight companies and organizations have signed official sponsorship agreements with the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee so far.

The Youth Olympics is a competition for promising athletes who have the potential to become stars in the future but are not yet well known. Since they are not current stars, it is not easy to attract attention. In fact, past events held abroad also received little attention domestically. However, since this event is hosted by our country, it deserves more affection.

2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Mascot 'Mungcho' [Photo by Yonhap News]

The history of the Youth Olympics is not long. The hosting of the Youth Olympics was decided at the 119th International Olympic Committee (IOC) General Assembly in Guatemala in 2007, and the first Youth Olympics were held in Singapore in 2010. It was a summer event. The Winter Youth Olympics were first held in 2012 in Innsbruck, Austria. Both summer and winter events are held every four years, just like the adult Olympics, making next year’s Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics the fourth edition.

Korea has achieved good results in past events. At the first Innsbruck Olympics, Korea ranked 4th overall (6 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze), and at the 2016 Lillehammer Games, it ranked 2nd overall. At that time, Korea won 10 gold medals, the same number as the United States, which took the overall championship. Korea ranked 2nd because it had 3 fewer silver medals than the U.S. (6). At the 2020 Lausanne Games, Korea won 5 gold medals and ranked 7th.

Although they did not receive much attention at the time, many athletes who have grown into stars now participated. Short track national representative Shim Seok-hee emerged as a next-generation star by winning gold medals in the 500m and 1000m and a bronze in the 3000m relay at the 2012 Innsbruck Olympics. At the 2016 Lillehammer Olympics, speed skater Kim Min-seon won gold in the 500m and bronze in the mass start, and short track athlete Hwang Dae-heon won gold in the 1000m. At the 2020 Lausanne Games, figure skater Yoo Young won the individual gold medal, making her name known worldwide.

Shin Ji-a [Photo by Yonhap News]

Most of the athletes participating in this event are unfamiliar at this point. The only exception is Shin Ji-a, who won the gold medal at the 2nd event of the 2023 International Skating Union (ISU) Junior Grand Prix held in Linz, Austria, on the 1st. Shin Ji-a is expected to bring Korea its second consecutive gold medal in the women’s individual figure skating event following Yoo Young.

The Youth Olympics features young athletes aged 15 to 18. The unnecessary concern stems from last month’s Saemangeum Youth Jamboree, which involved teenagers of a similar age group. The Youth Jamboree opened amid widespread indifference and later became controversial as various issues surfaced. To show a respectable example to future generations, we must not repeat the same mistakes.

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