A high school senior won the South Korean Olympic short track speed skating trials that wrapped up Sunday, earning a chance to represent the country at the 2026 Winter Games in Italy.
Rim Jong-un, 17, finished first overall among male skaters with 102 points after two rounds of the 2025-2026 season national team trials at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul. Rim shot to first place after the opening phase, thanks to his victory in the 1,500 meters, a runner-up finish in the 1,000m and a 17th-place showing in the 500m. Then, in the second stage, Rim once again captured the 1,500m title while finishing third in the 500m and 10th in the 1,000m.
Rim won two gold medals at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Junior Short Track Championships in February, and he has made the senior national team for the first time.
Hwang Dae-heon, the 2022 Olympic champion in the 1,500m, finished second overall to Rim with 89 points.
Hwang, 25, had come up short in the national team trials for the 2024-2025 season while also causing controversy by committing a series of fouls on teammate Park Ji-won at ISU World Cup, world championships and national team trials.
Shin Dong-min, a triple gold medalist at last year's world juniors, finished third in the trials with 55 points. The 20-year-old will also be making his senior international debut.
The top three finishers for men will skate in individual events and relays at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The next two skaters in the trials, Lee Jeong-min and Lee June-seo, will only be eligible for the relays.
Park Ji-won, a three-time world champion who has also won three overall World Cup titles, finished well out of contention at the trials. Despite his decorated international resume, Park has never skated at an Olympics.
On the women's side, Kim Gil-li, the 2024 ISU World Cup overall champion, won the trials with 128 points, followed by Noh Do-hee with 69 points.
Three-time Olympic champion Choi Min-jeong secured an automatic berth by winning an individual gold medal at the world championships last month, and only Kim and Noh earned the right to skate in individual events at the Olympics through the trials.
Lee So-yeon and Shim Suk-hee, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, earned spots for the relays in Italy after finishing third and fourth in the trials.
South Korea is the most successful short track country in Olympic history with 26 gold, 16 silver and 11 bronze medals. (Yonhap)
