Park Ji-won, the Korean short-track men’s national team, who won 14 gold medals at the 2022-2023 International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track World Cup, is emerging as a new ace, and Chinese athletes who competed are also attracting attention.
Korean short track speed skater Park Ji-won returned home via Incheon International Airport on the afternoon of the 14th with his teammates. At the press conference that day, Park Ji-won said, “I knew who I was racing with” in the 5,000m men’s relay at this World Cup. In the 5,000m event, Park Ji-won competed with a Chinese athlete for first place and crossed the finish line first.
The final runner of the Chinese national team, which competed with Park Ji-won for the lead until the end, was Lin Xiaojun (Korean name Lim Hyo-jun). Lin Xiaojun won two gold medals in this World Cup. Lin Xiaojun, who won the gold medal in the 500m in the 5th competition held on the 5th, also won the 500m in the 6th competition, standing tall as the strongest in this event. Xiaojun Lin also won a gold medal in the 5,000m relay at the 5th competition. 메이저놀이터
Lin Xiaojun, who served as the ace of the Chinese national team in this World Cup, once reigned as the Korean short track ace wearing the Korean national flag instead of the Chinese five-star flag. As a member of the Korean national team at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, he made his name known by winning bronze medals in the 1,500m and 500m events.
However, in 2019, Xiaojun Lin was charged with forcibly molesting a junior player of the same sex and fell into a crisis in his career as an athlete. As a result of the trial, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal in the third trial and was acquitted of the charges of indecent assault.
However, in accordance with Article 41, Paragraph 2 of the Olympic Charter of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which states that “athletes who have changed their nationality can only participate as a representative of their country after three years have passed,” Lin Xiaojun could not join the Chinese national team immediately.
Afterwards, Xiaojun Lin played his first international competition after naturalization through the International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track World Cup in the 2022-23 season held at the Maurice Richard Arena in Montreal, Canada in October of last year. At that time, Xiaojun Lin passed the men’s 1,000m and 1,500m qualifiers.
However, Xiaojun Lin, who competed in Group 1 of the mixed 2,000m relay semi-finals, was disqualified for pushing the Japanese athlete with his hand. He withdrew from the 1,500m semi-final and did not earn much money. Shaojun Lin, who won three gold medals at the World Cup with great pride, quickly emerged as a center of short track speed skating in China, receiving a lot of attention from the Chinese media.