BEIJING– As she wrapped up her final training session of Beijing 2022 on Tuesday, the eve of her last event, South Korean short track speed skater Choi Min-jeong said she had many different thoughts going through her mind.
But winning her fifth career medal, which would put her in a tie for first place among South Korean Winter Olympians, wasn’t one of them.
Choi, a double gold medalist from PyeongChang 2018, has bagged two silver medals so far in Beijing. She can add a third medal in the women’s 1,500m on Wednesday. She is the defending champion of the final women’s event of the competition.
Two former short trackers, Chun Lee-kyung and Park Seung-hi, and active speed skater Lee Seung-hoon have each won five Winter Olympic medals.
Asked about the possibility of joining that elite company on Tuesday, Choi said, “I had no idea.”
“During my time in Beijing, I’ve learned how precious medals are, regardless of their color,” Choi said after practice at Capital Indoor Stadium. “I am going to do my absolute best tomorrow.”
The first two individual races on the women’s side have both seen repeat champions. Arianna Fontana of Italy won her second straight 500m gold, and Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands edged out Choi to defend her 1,000m title.
If that trend holds, then Choi seems destined to be the third back-to-back gold medalist in Beijing.
“I guess I have to hold up my end of the bargain,” Choi said with a laugh, adding that she had already heard plenty about the repeat bid from friends and teammates. “But the 1,500m is really unpredictable. I will just try to do what I can do.”
Schulting also got the better of Choi in the 3,000m relay final, holding off the late-charging South Korean for the gold by the Netherlands. With another half a lap or so, perhaps Choi could have caught Schulting in both the relay and the 1,000m finals. But Choi said she wasn’t going to dwell on those close calls.
“I don’t want to find myself in a situation like that again,” Choi said. “South Korea has been great in the women’s 1,500m and I want to keep that legacy alive.”
Toward the end of the training session, Choi was seen circling the track alone with her arms folded, apparently lost in thought.
“This one certainly felt different than other practices,” Choi said. “I was playing back some of my earlier races and thinking about how I am going to skate tomorrow. I had to organize my thoughts.”
In addition to the women’s 1,500m, the men’s 5,000m relay final is also scheduled for Wednesday. South Korea will be going for its first men’s relay gold since 2006.
“It will be a big day for us,” Choi said. “Everyone has gone through so much here and we’re all a bit exhausted. But we tried to cheer up each other today. This is all going to end tomorrow, and we have to have that one last push.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency