A pair of Olympic champions have joined a new skating club launched by the state sports lottery operator, officials said Tuesday.

Lee Sang-hwa, a two-time reigning Olympic gold medalist in women's 500-meter speed skating, and Park Seung-hi, who won two short track gold medals at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games before converting to speed skating, are among the 11 skaters on Sports Toto's new semi-pro club.

A team official said Lee Kyou-hyuk, a six-time Olympian in men's speed skating, will be the head coach. In total, there are seven speed skaters and four short trackers.

Sports Toto reached a deal with the east coast city of Gangneung, Gangwon Province, some 240 kilometers east of Seoul, to make the provincial city its home. The formal team launching ceremony has been scheduled for next Tuesday.

Joining Lee Kyou-hyuk on the coaching staff will be former Olympic speed skater Mun Jun, who captured a bronze at the world sprint championships in 2008.

Lee Sang-hwa, the world record holder in the women's 500m at 36.36 seconds, had been training without a club for more than a year since her deal with the Seoul Metropolitan Government expired in December 2014.

Park, an accomplished short tracker, switched to speed skating in the fall of 2014 and has made the national team in her new sport.

Local governments, including Seoul's, have been operating skating squads, though Korean Air became the first private company to join the fray in February 2011. It counts former Olympic speed skating champions Mo Tae-bum and Lee Seung-hoon among its athletes. (Yonhap)