Gangwon 2024: Team USA Left Reeling as Korean Skater Scripts Historic Win at Winter Youth Olympics

Despite facing natural calamities at the start, the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics is in full swing. In an attempt to bolster the team, the USA added a series of Junior Grand Prix medalists to the skating lineup. However, they faced a disappointing end at the hands of Canadian rivals Annika Behnke and Kole Sauve. But high hopes were on the next scheduled individual skating event as America set its eyes on 2023 Junior medalist Jacob Sanchez.

Sanchez led the men’s singles at the Winter Youth Olympics on the 27th, after he delivered a stunning short program. But as the contest progressed, the 17-year-old fell short of an Olympic medal while the Korean skater scripted history.

Korean skater scripts history at Winter Youth Olympics on home soil

Korean Skater Kim Hyungyeom was phenomenal during the men’s single skating at the Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024 and topped the podium with 147.45 for a 216.73 total. With this momentous victory, Kim created history for The Republic of Korea, becoming the first-ever Korean skater to win a medal at the Olympics, and that too a gold. Congratulating the 17-year-old, the X handle of the Olympics wrote, “OLYMPIC HISTORY! Kim Hyungyeom just won the first ever medal for a male Korean figure skater at an Olympic event, and he did it on home ground!“

Free skating is Kim’s specialty where he racked up 147.45 to clinch the historic gold medal. Missing a narrow 0.5 in a nail-biting finish, Slovakian skater Adam Hagara finished 2nd with 216.23 while Yanhao Li of New Zealand scored 208.84 to win the bronze medal. While the American skater Jacob Sanchez led the short program throughout the contest but finished 4th with a score of 200.28, the gold medal marked Kim’s 2nd historic achievement for Korea in 2 months.

Kim Hyungyeom scripts history at the Grand Prix Final

During the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final from December 7-10, Kim Hyungyeom recorded another historic feat for Korea after registering the national’s highest finish by a male skater. He won the silver medal behind Japan’s Nakata Rio. While the 17-year-old is establishing his status in the international arena, he is already proving to be one of the best Korean skaters.

READ MORE: Gangwon 2024: Comeback Win Turns to First Gold for Great Britain in Youth Olympics

Kim won the silver medal at the 2023 Korean Championships and was then selected for the World Junior Championships in Algeria where he finished eighth in the short program and 6th in the free skates. The figure skating specialist then went on to win another silver at the 2023 Junior Grand Prix Austria, and now the gold at the Winter Youth Olympics marks his grand arrival on the Olympics stage.

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