Seoul: President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday congratulated para athlete Kim Yun-ji on becoming the first South Korean woman to win a Winter Paralympic gold medal, praising her as setting a new "milestone" in Korean sports history. Lee wrote the message on his Facebook account after Kim won the women's individual sitting title in para biathlon at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics in Italy on Sunday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, this achievement marked South Korea's first-ever gold in biathlon across both Olympics and Paralympics. It was also the first gold medal won by a South Korean female athlete in an individual event at the Winter Paralympics. Lee expressed that Kim's success has set a new milestone in Korean sports history.
Kim completed her competition in 38:00.01, finishing 12.8 seconds ahead of Anja Wicker from Germany. Meanwhile, Kendall Gretsch from the United States secured the bronze medal with a time of 38:47.9.