Harbin: South Korea collected four more medals in speed skating at the Asian Winter Games in China on Tuesday to finish the competition with 12 medals overall.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the 19-year-old rising star Lee Na-hyun led South Korea with four medals, capping her memorable Asian Games debut with a bronze medal in the women’s 1,000 meters at Heilongjiang Ice Events Training Center Speed Skating Oval. Lee clocked 1:16.39 to finish just 0.54 seconds behind the gold medalist from China, Han Mei, while another Chinese skater, Yin Qi, secured the silver medal with a time of 1:16.08.
Lee had previously captured a gold medal in the women’s 100m on Saturday, followed by a silver in the 500m on Sunday behind teammate Kim Min-sun. On Monday, Lee, along with Kim Min-sun and Kim Min-ji, claimed gold in the women’s team sprint event. The bronze in the 1,000m on Tuesday meant Lee reached the podium in every race she entered in Harbin.
Lee expressed that her performances in Harbin have boosted her confidence to aim for a podium finish at the Winter Olympics next year in Italy. “I think I should aim for a podium at the Olympics,” she stated. “I posted some good times here. And I also learned how to prepare mentally for a big competition.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Cha Min-kyu claimed silver in the men’s 1,000m, finishing with a time of 1:09.63. Ning Zhongyan from China won gold with a new Asian continental and Asian Games record of 1:08.81, while Lian Ziwen of China took bronze with a time of 1:09.68. Cha had previously won a team sprint silver medal on Monday.
The speed skating competition concluded with the men’s and women’s team pursuit races on Tuesday, with South Korea reaching the podium in both events. In the men’s team pursuit, Lee Seung-hoon, Chung Jae-won, and Park Sang-eon claimed silver with a time of 3:47.99. China secured gold with a time of 3:45.94, and Japan earned bronze in 3:52.93. This marked Lee’s ninth career Winter Asiad medal, setting a record for a South Korean athlete.
In the women’s team pursuit, South Korea secured bronze with Park Ji-woo, Jeong Yu-na, and Kim Yoon-ji finishing in 3:10.47. The South Korean team faced Kazakhstan in the first pairing, but Kazakhstan’s race ended early after one of its skaters fell at the start, allowing South Korea to comfortably secure the bronze.