Yun Sungbin starts in the fourth heat of the men’s skeleton competition at the Alpensia Olympic Sliding Center in Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do Province, on Feb. 16.
By Kim Eun-young and Sohn JiAe
Photos = Yonhap News
Korean skeleton slider Yun Sungbin, 24, has won the gold medal in the men’s skeleton competition at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. It’s not only his country’s first gold in any sliding event, but is also a first in Asia, as well.
In the final fourth run at the Alpensia Olympic Sliding Center on Feb. 16, the Korean racer crossed the finishing line in 50.02 seconds, breaking another course record of his.
In the previous first, second and third runs, Yun maintained his lead with dominant times of 50.28 seconds, 50.07 seconds and 50.18 seconds, respectively.
With a combined time of 3:20.55, the athlete outdid the other 30 competitors and won by a whopping 1.63 seconds over runner-up Nikita Treguov of Russia.
Yun Sungbin comes in first in the fourth heat of the men’s skeleton race at the Alpensia Olympic Sliding Center in Pyeongchang on Feb. 16.
“In the fourth run, I had points that I liked and didn’t like, but ultimately I put on quite a good performance,” Yun said after the final run. “I’m pleased that I could prove that I performed well on any course at the track.”
He continued to say that, “Winning a gold medal was my goal and, also, the dream that every athlete in sliding Olympic events might have. I feel so good that I became the one that started the dream coming true.”
Skeleton gold medalist Yun Sungbin (center) smiles as he holds up Soohorang, the official Olympic mascot, along with silver medalist Nikita Treguov (left) of Russia and bronze medalist Don Parsons of the U.K., at the Alpensia Olympic Sliding Center in Pyeongchang on Feb. 16.
eykim86@korea.kr
