#SpeedSkating #ShortTrackSkating
#Gangwon2024
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Gold medalist Finn Sonnekalb (GER), silver medallist Miika Johan Klevstuen (NOR), and bronze medalist Shin Seonung (KOR) on the podium
for the Medal Ceremony of the Speed Skating Men’s 500m. @OIS/Bob Martin
Speed skating sensations follow in the footsteps of their sporting heroes at Gangwon 2024
When Joo Jaehee (KOR) stepped foot on the ice of the Gangneung Ice Arena for the first time, he was hit by flashbacks from the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics. This is where he saw his biggest inspiration Lim Hyo Jun (KOR) win gold in the Men’s Short Track 1500m.
And in almost similar fashion, Joo announced himself on the Olympic stage in front of thousands of enthusiastic home fans, too.
The 17-year-old brought home the first Short Track gold for the host nation by winning the Men’s 1500m on Saturday, taking inspiration from his role model.
“I came to watch the Men’s 1500m event at the Gangneung Ice Arena during the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games. I saw that Lim Hyo Hun won the gold, which gave me more motivation, and I ended up doing the same celebration,” Joo said, carrying the national flag with him.
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Joo Jaehee (KOR) celebrates with the national flag of the Republic of Korea after winning the final of the Short Track Speed Skating Men’s 1500m. @OIS/Joe Toth
Legacy of PyeongChang 2018
Gangwon 2024 benefits from the legacy of PyeongChang 2018. Most venues that were built for the Olympic Winter Games six years ago are now being reused, including the Gangneung Ice Arena and the Gangneung Oval.
It allows the young talents to - quite literally - follow in the footsteps of their sporting icons who also made history in the heart of Gangwon.
Angel Daleman (NED) even has one of her inspirations by her side both on and off the ice: Ireen Wüst (NED). And from whom else is Daleman to take better advice than the five-time Olympic individual Speed Skating champion?
Wüst, who won gold in the Women’s 1500m at PyeongChang 2018, works as a performance and mental health expert within the Dutch Olympic Committee. She is at the Games to help the young talents reach their full potential.
“It’s amazing to have Ireen (Wüst) with us. I talk to her a lot. If she wouldn’t have been here right now, I would have struggled a lot on this ice,” Daleman said, explaining that she had to get used to the conditions at the Oval. “The ice is just very hard.”
Wüst’s words of advice certainly pushed Daleman forward, as the 16-year-old prodigy won her second Speed Skating gold of Gangwon 2024 today; in the Women’s 1500m, just like Wüst did six years ago.
“I wanted to watch her race (the Women’s 1500m Speed Skating final) from PyeongChang 2018 yesterday, but I wasn't able to find it. And she (Wüst) said: ‘I don’t remember much of it either’. So I think we'll both have to watch it back now [laughs],” Daleman said.
In the Women’s 1500m, Liu Yunqi (CHN) won silver behind Daleman, with Hanna Mazur (POL) bagging a surprise bronze.
Yes she can! 🤩
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) January 23, 2024
Podium finish means so much to Hanna Mazur from Poland as she secures bronze in the Women's 1500m Speed Skating event. @ISU_Speed | #Gangwon2024 pic.twitter.com/1T0ehRYjvS
Another day, another gold
Miika Johan Klevstuen (NOR) was inspired by Olympic Speed Skating champion Havard Holmefjord Lorentzen (NOR) to take up the sport. Lorentzen won the Men's 500m title in the same oval PyeongChang 2018, with Klevstuen bagging silver in the event.
“I've trained a lot with him (Lorentzen) this season. I wanted to win because he won here. But it's what is. I watched his Olympic race a lot,” he said after the final on Monday.
Klevstuen was not able to replicate his good form today, finishing in 13th place in the Men’s 1500m as Finn Sonnekalb (GER) reasserted his dominance in the Speed Skating competition again.
Sonnekalb stopped the clock at 1:50.53 to make it two out of two so far at Gangwon 2024, finishing first ahead of silver medalist Pan Baoshuo (CHN) and Kubo Sota (JPN), who took bronze.
“It's very nice,” Sonnekalb said. “Yesterday I got the gold in the 500m. It's not my favourite distance, so it (maybe) was a little bit lucky. This morning I stood up and said to myself: 'You got this’. And now I get it. My second gold.”
The Speed Skating competition at the Gangneung Oval continues on Thursday with the Mixed Team Relay. Full schedule.
You can watch the live stream of the competitions here.
