By Kim Tae Won and Sohn JiAe

Skeleton racer Yun Sung-bin stood on the podium with a gold medal around his neck after the third leg of the 2017/2018 BMW International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup, in Whistler, Canada, on Nov. 25.

Achieving a record-breaking time of 51.99 seconds in his first run and then logging a time of 52.35 seconds in the second, the Korean athlete held a 0.75-second lead over Nikita Tregubov of Russia, with a total of 1 minute 44.34 seconds.

“With several experiences I’ve had here in Whistler, I felt confident and hopeful before the match today,” said Yun. “The next fourth stop in the IBSF World Cup is slated to be held on Dec. 4 in Winterberg, Germany. I’ll put on as good a show as I did today.”

The athlete won two consecutive gold medals in the season, with one from an earlier second leg in Park City, Utah, on Nov. 19. Following the third of eight races in the World Cup, Yun has moved ahead to take the lead in the overall standings with a total of 660 points, edging out his long archrival Martins Dukurs of Latvia who had previously shared the lead by 49 points and placing him in second place. His winning the championship has raised expectations for next year’s PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

twkim0717@korea.kr