National curling athletes on Jan. 22 yell "Fighting!" in pledging their best efforts at the launch ceremony for the national team for the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy, at Seoul Olympic Parktel in Seoul's Songpa-gu District.
By Charles Audouin
Photos = Lee Jeongwoo
The national team for the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy, on Jan. 22 pledged to do their best two weeks before the tournament at the squad's launch ceremony held at Seoul Olympic Parktel in Seoul's Songpa-gu District.
Among the 150 figures and staff who attended the event were Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Chae Hwi-young, Korea Sports & Olympic Committee President Ryu Seung-min and Korea Skating Union President Lee Soo-kyung, who is head of the players' delegation.
"I look forward to seeing our tradition and reputation in ice skating sports and new challenges in snow and sledding sports shine proudly on the world stage," Minister Chae said. "I will cheer so that the Taegeukgi (Korean national flag) can fly across Italy."
Korea Skating Union President Lee Soo-kyung, who leads the players' delegation for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, on Jan. 22 speaks at the national team's launch ceremony at Seoul Olympic Parktel in Seoul's Songpa-gu District.
Scheduled from Feb. 6-22 in Milan and the resort town of Cortina d'Ampezzo, the tournament will see an estimated 2,900 athletes from 90 countries compete for 116 gold medals in eight sports.
Korea will send some 70 athletes to take part in six sports: the biathlon, bobsledding and skeleton, curling, luge, ice skating events (figure, speed and short track), and skiing and snowboarding.
Under the project "Team up Korea," the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is also providing multifaceted support to the athletes to ensure their peak capacity like tailored and overseas training, support for athlete participation in global championships, psychological counseling and artificial intelligence-based performance analysis.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Chae Hwi-young (left) on Jan. 22 gives a message of encouragement and souvenirs to speed skater Chung Jae Won (center) and short track star Choi Minjeong at the launch ceremony for the national team for the Milan-Cortino Winter Olympics at Seoul Olympic Parktel in Seoul's Songpa-gu District.
Two gold medalists at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics -- short track stars Choi Minjeong and Hwang Dae-heon -- are expected again to play a key role for Korea in these Olympics. If Choi wins two medals in Italy, she will set a Korean record for most medals by an individual in either the winter or summer games with seven.
"Please enjoy the games with pride as national athletes and focus on fully displaying your skills instead of concentrating on winning or losing," the athletes' delegation chief Lee said. "I hope you show perseverance and fighting spirit while also enjoying the journey with confidence."
The main delegation on Jan. 30 will depart for Italy.
caudouin@korea.kr
