Korean Speed Skaters

[Anchor Lead]

Short track speed skating is one of South Korea’s strong suits at the Olympic Games as multiple wins and medals prove. The national short track speed skating team is aiming to make history at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games next year. The team has promised not to disappoint at the games.

[Pkg]

The national short track speed skating team is firmly determined to perform well at the upcoming International Skating Union World Cup. It is because the world cup is the last competition of the season, which will be held in South Korea. It is also an important occasion for the team to build first-hand experiences. At the three previous events of the world cup, the South Korean team proved that it is the best and strongest in the world. It grabbed six gold medals in the first-round event. The team won 12 gold medals in total through the three events, which were half of the gold medals at stake. That's equivalent to winning four gold medals in each competition.

[Soundbite] Kim Sun-tae(Korean Nat’l Short Track Skating Team Manager) : "The upcoming event is an occasion in which we will check and identify how much we have overcome our shortcomings and what we should supplement in the future."

The women's team overwhelmed other contestants with the two leading skaters Choi Min-jeong and Shim Seok-hee remaining unchallenged. The men's team, which won no medals at the Sochi Olympics in 2014, secured results as good as their female counterparts, thanks to Im Hyo-joon and Hwang Dae-heon. They are the younger skaters who represent a shift in generations.

[Soundbite] Im Hyo-joon(Korean Nat’l Short Track Skating Team) : "With strong expectations, we will be able to gain good results if we do our best in competitions."

Short track speed skating is a representative Olympic Games category in which Korea has performed well overall. The national team is pledging to make history in PyeongChang, surpassing the best-ever record of winning six gold medals, which was set in the Torino Olympic Games in 2006.