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And now it's once again time for our special coverage of the Sochi Winter Olympics, and
we have Lee Tae Ho joining us once again to give us all the latest up to date coverage.
Good afternoon, Tae Ho.
Good afternoon, Conn-young.
Now we just saw the results of the women's 500-meter speed skating event with the favorite,
Korea's Lee Sang-hwa, living up to the hype.
That's right. What we saw last night on ice was Olympic
history. Lee scored the first Olympic gold medal for
Team Korea at the Winter Olympics and set a new Olympic record along the way.
And if you were like me, staying up late to catch the Korean national anthem being played
during the medal ceremony, and you were disappointed because it didn't happen, don't worry.
The official medal ceremony will take place tonight at 1 a.m. Korea time.
Now, we just talked about the "Empress," as she is called at home, speed skater Lee Sang-hwa,
but Korea has another athlete regarded as royalty on ice, right?
Yes, indeed, and she goes by the name of Kim Yu-na.
And the "Queen" officially left Korea this morning for Sochi to defend her figure skating
crown, along with her two junior teammates Kim Hae-jin and Park So-youn .
She is scheduled to land in Moscow then arrive in Sochi tomorrow on the 13th.
And I'm sure that her every move will be scrutinized as soon as she touches down in Russia.
And for a reigning World and Olympic champion, that is to be expected.
But I'm sure that, as always, Kim will handle the immense pressure and expectations for
her last Olympics with her trademark nerves of steel.
And now, the other big news from yesterday for Team Korea was from the sport of curling?
That's right. And now most people don't associate South Korea with any winter sport outside
of speed skating and figure skating, but the South Korean women's curling team has quietly
made a name for itself around the world this
year.
Oh, is that right?
Yes, indeed, which is why I said quietly, because it is still a very obscure sport in
Korea. The Korean Curling Association was founded
in 1994, which is considerably later than many other countries who participate in the
sport. For instance, Japan's curling association
was founded almost ten years earlier in 1985. And this is Team Korea's first appearance
in Olympic curling, clinching a berth with a top 4 finish at the 2012 World Women's Curling
Championships that was held in Canada.
But the Korean team had a very good result for their very first match at the Olympics,
correct?
That's right, Conn-young. Korea's first Olympic curling match was against
Team Japan, and what a match it was The women of Team Korea came from behind to win big with
a score of 12 to 7. But Team Korea lost its second match, 8 to
6, to the Swiss National team and are currently sitting in fourth place.
They will be on the ice again tonight against Sweden at 7 p.m. Korea time.
And I think we touched very lightly on this before, but it is so nice to see Korea really
branching out to other winter sports.
I certainly agree with you Conn-young, because it appears that Korea is finally breaking
out of its traditional comfort zone. And what I mean is that Korea has won 45 medals
since the 1948 Winter Olympics, which puts it in 14th among ALL the countries in the
world. But Korea has won all 45 Winter Olympic medals
in only three events, can you guess which?
Hmmm, could it be -- speed skating, short-track speed skating and figure skating?
That's right. Those have been the traditional bread and butter events for Korea.
And these events have made Korea the winner of the most Winter Games medals in all of
Asia, so many hope they continue to be a mainstay of Korea's Winter Olympic program even as
the country branches out into other winter
sports. And Korea certainly has enough bright young
stars to invest in, such as Choi Jae-woo, who made it to the finals in freestyle skiing,
or Kim Ho-jun, who just yesterday competed in the men's halfpipe snowboarding event.
It's very nice to see young Korean athletes not just on the ice, but on the slopes as
well.
The future certainly does look bright for Korea, especially because the next Olympic
Games in 2018 will be held right here in Pyeongchang. And so what other events can we look forward
to tonight?
Well, we'll have a chance to watch "Motor Bum," speed skater Mo Tae-bum, facing off
against the heavy American favorite, Shani Davis, in the 1,000-meter men's speed skating
event. Now, this has been a great rivalry between
the two, with Mo missing the gold at the 2010 Olympic Games by just 18 hundredths of a second.
We'll also be seeing speed skater Lee Kyou-hyuk in action again as well, right?
That's right, and many are expecting this to be Lee's last run at the Olympics, so regardless
of the outcome I think everybody will be cheering for him.
I know I will. Thank you, Tae Ho, for the Olympic coverage
and we'll see you again tomorrow.
You're welcome. Have a good afternoon.