Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy – The South Korean four-man bobsleigh team, piloted by Kim Jin-su, concluded their competition at the Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, finishing in eighth place overall. The team completed the four runs at the Cortina Sliding Centre with a combined time of 3 minutes and 39.24 seconds.
The team of Kim Jin-su, Kim Sun-wook, Kim Hyeong-geun, and Lee Geon-u initially posted a time of 54.60 seconds in their first run, tying with a U.S. Team piloted by Christopher Holz for eighth place. Their second run saw a slight improvement in start time – 4.76 seconds compared to 4.80 seconds in the first – but a slower overall time of 54.90 seconds, 0.30 seconds slower than their initial effort. This resulted in a combined time of 1 minute and 49.50 seconds after two runs, securing them eighth position.
On the final day of competition, the Korean team continued with a third run of 54.75 seconds. They then completed their fourth and final run in 54.99 seconds, solidifying their eighth-place finish with a total time of 3 minutes and 39.24 seconds. Only the top 20 teams after the third run qualified for the fourth and final heat.
The result comes after a promising performance at the same Cortina track in November of last year, where Kim Jin-su’s team secured a bronze medal at the IBSF World Cup, marking the first medal for a Korean bobsleigh team in international competition. That November victory had raised hopes for a potential medal at the Olympics, building on the four-man silver medal won by Korea in 2018.
However, the Olympic competition was dominated by the German teams. Johannes Lochner piloted his team to first place with a time of 1 minute and 48.61 seconds, while Francesco Friedrich, the defending champion, finished second at 1 minute and 49.04 seconds. Adam Ammour led a third German team to a bronze medal with a time of 1 minute and 49.20 seconds.
Another Korean team, piloted by Suk Young-jin, finished in 23rd place overall. Suk, along with Chae Byung-do, Chun Su-hyun, and Lee Do-yun, recorded times of 55.51 seconds and 55.22 seconds in their first two runs, totaling 1 minute and 50.73 seconds. Their subsequent third run of 55.72 seconds brought their cumulative time to 2 minutes and 46.45 seconds, preventing them from qualifying for the fourth run.
The conclusion of the four-man bobsleigh event marked the end of competition for the South Korean delegation at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, leaving only the closing ceremony remaining on their schedule.
South Korea’s overall performance at the Games saw them achieve three gold medals, four silver medals, and three bronze medals. This result met the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee’s (KSOC) pre-Games target of winning at least one more gold medal than they did at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, where they secured two gold, five silver, and two bronze medals. Much of the success was driven by the short track speed skating team, who won two gold, three silver, and two bronze medals – an improvement on their two gold and three silver medals from Beijing.
Kim Gil-li was the standout performer for South Korea, winning two gold medals – in the women’s 1,500-meter short track speed skating event and as part of the women’s 3,000-meter relay team. Her teammate, Choi Min-jeong, secured a silver medal in the 1,500-meter event, while the men’s 5,000-meter relay team added a silver medal to the tally.
