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And now it's time once again for our special coverage of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics,
and for that we are joined by our Lee Tae Ho.
Good afternoon, Tae Ho.
Good afternoon, Conn-young.
So, last night we had the women's and men's speed skating events.
That's right. The women's 500-meter short track competition
provided one of, if not the most, chaotic events so far during these games.
But despite the commotion, Park Seung-hi of Team Korea won bronze, making it the second
medal of the 2014 Games for Korea.
So what was all the commotion about?
Well, three skaters collided and fell in the first lap of the race, including Korean skater
Park Seung-hi.
And what did the judges have to say about it all?
Well, Britain's Elise Christie was ruled to be the cause of the collision and penalized.
She was the second person to cross the finish line, but the silver medal was awarded to
Italy's Arianna Fontana, and therefore Park, who actually crossed the finish line last,
was awarded the bronze by default.
So, the results of the finals were determined by the crash?
Yes, that's right. China's Li Jianrou snapped up the gold, and
she was the ONLY one of the four skaters who didn't get caught up in the fiasco.
But Park still has another chance at gold, doesn't she?
Well, she was supposed to skate in the women's 1,500-meter event, but she hurt her right
knee during the crash and has had to withdraw from the race.
But it was great to see Park recover her composure after the crash to win bronze, although this
is quite the bittersweet victory for her because she had a very good chance at the gold.
Still, receiving a medal for Korea in this event is significant, right?
Yes, it has been 16 years since Korea won a medal in the women's 500-meter short track
competition.
Well, congratulations to Park on winning a medal for Korea.
Now, at the same time, it was disappointing to see 16-year-old prodigy Shim Suk-hee failing
to qualify for even the semifinals.
Yes it was, especially when she was considered a contender for gold in the 500-meter event.
But since she is only 16, she still has plenty of time to prepare for the 2018 Olympics in
Korea, and even then she will only be a very young 20 years old.
That's a good point. And the men were in action last night for
short track as well, right?
That's correct, and both Sin Da-woon and Lee Han-bin qualified for the quarterfinals of
the men's 1,000-meter short track event,... so we will look forward to seeing them both
compete in the semis... and hopefully win a spot on the
podium.
Now, the long-track speed skating events also took place last night, right?
Yes, indeed, and the gold medalist in the 500-meter event, Lee Sang-hwa, competed in
the 1,000 meters but placed 12th here. There was also the men's 5,000-meter relay
event.
And how did Team Korea do?
Well, the Korean men's team unfortunately failed to advance.
Lee Ho-suk crashed into American Eduardo Alvarez, and the American team received an advance
from the judges because Lee was ruled the cause of the crash.
So, it seems like yesterday was the most hectic day in the speed skating competitions for
both the men and the women.
I'd say so -- there were tears on both sides. But regardless of the results, this is what
makes speed skating so exciting and nerve-wracking -- you never know what is going to happen.
And also last night, it was the start of one of the most popular events of the Winter Games
-- the men's figure skating short program -- and I think we're seeing the rise of a
new men's skating superstar?
Indeed. Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu electrified the crowd
by setting a new world record for the men's short program with a score of 101.45, after
Russia's only competitor, Yevgeny Plushenko, pulled out of the event and announced his
retirement.
And the long program is coming up on Friday in Sochi, and I'm sure figure skating fans are
waiting for that, too.
That's right, and there are only two real contenders for the gold heading into long
program, Yuzuru and Patrick Chan of Canada, who happens to be the record holder for the
event, so it will certainly be exciting to see who takes home
the gold. And another interesting sidenote about Yuzuru
-- his coach is the same as the person who coached our very own Kim Yu-na, Brian Orser
and it certainly does seem he has a knack for finding great new talent.
And speaking of Kim Yu-na, the women's figure skating short program
is on Wednesday, and as you told us yesterday, she is
in Sochi preparing for
the event.
Yes, she is. She was on the ice yesterday for her practice
with about a dozen or so cameras focused on each and every one of her steps, so anticipation
for the event is really starting to ramp up.
Alright. Well, I'm sure that you'll be keeping us up to date on how Kim is preparing, as
well as all the latest from Sochi 2014, so we'll be looking forward to more coverage
with you next week starting on Monday.
Yes, I will. See you on Monday.