[Olympics] Women's Short Track 3000m Relay Silver Medal (Summary)

by Lee Jonggil

Published 13 Feb.2022 21:36(KST)

Updated 14 Feb.2022 05:38(KST)

3000m Relay Olympic Medal for 3 Consecutive Times

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The women's short track speed skating team won the silver medal in the 3000m relay at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The team, consisting of Choi Min-jeong (Seongnam City Hall), Kim A-rang (Goyang City Hall), Lee Yu-bin (Yonsei University), and Seo Hwi-min (Korea University), recorded a time of 4 minutes 3.627 seconds in the final held on the 13th at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China. They finished second behind the Netherlands, who set an Olympic record (4 minutes 3.409 seconds), and took the silver medal. With this, the team succeeded in winning medals in this event for three consecutive Olympics, following gold medals at the 2014 Sochi Games and the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. China (4 minutes 3.863 seconds) took third place, and Canada (4 minutes 4.329 seconds) finished fourth.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Starting from the outermost lane, the team fluctuated between third and fourth place until the middle of the race. While the Netherlands solidified their lead, the athletes fiercely competed with Canada and China. The intense chase began with three laps remaining. Kim A-rang attacked the inside lane to overtake China, and the final skater, Choi Min-jeong, used her characteristic outside lane sprint with two laps left to shake off Canada. Choi tried to catch up to the Netherlands' star Suzanne Schulting but the finish line was too close. She safely crossed second and shared the joy with her teammates.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This is a valuable achievement despite evaluations that the team was weaker than in previous years. The team lost Shim Suk-hee, who won gold medals at the Sochi and Pyeongchang Olympics, due to disciplinary action following an unfortunate incident. Kim Ji-yoo also could not attend Beijing due to an injury sustained before the competition that did not heal. The team struggled in this season's World Cup and other events due to disrupted training caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the athletes united tightly around their eldest sister Kim A-rang and overcame adversity. They gave their best until the end, continuing the medal streak and upholding the pride of a short track powerhouse. Since this event was officially adopted at the 1992 Albertville Olympics, the team has won six times. With this silver medal, the Korean delegation has won a total of five medals (1 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze) at these Games.