Swimming world champion Hwang Sun-woo eyes Olympic medals

One by one, South Korean swimmer Hwang Sun-woo has been crossing things off his to-do list. Next up for the freshly minted world champion in the men's 200-meter freestyle will be an Olympic medal -- or make that medals. Hwang returned home Monday after grabbing two medals at the World Aquatics Championships in Qatar earlier this month. First, he won the 200m freestyle gold medal for his first world title and his third career medal from the competition. Then he capped it off by anchoring Sou

Feb. 19, 2024

S. Korea finishes swimming world championships with record 5 medals

South Korea has finished the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Qatar with a record five medals, nearly matching the total it had won at all previous competitions combined. With three medals from swimming and two more from diving, South Korean athletes set themselves up nicely for the Paris Olympics this summer. Prior to the Feb. 2-19 competition in Doha, South Korea had won six medals at all previous world championships. In collecting a handful of medals in Qatar, South Korean athletes also m

Feb. 19, 2024

S. Korean Kim Min-sun grabs silver at speed skating worlds

South Korean speed skater Kim Min-sun has captured her first career world championship medal with a silver in the women's 500 meters. Kim finished second in the 500m at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Speed Skating Single Distances Championships in Calgary, Canada, on Friday (local time), with a time of 37.19 seconds. Femke Kok of the Netherlands won the gold medal at 36.83 seconds. Kimi Goetz of the United States took bronze in 37.21 seconds. In addition to reaching the world p

Feb. 17, 2024

Host South Korea wins opening matches at table tennis worlds

The host South Korea notched victories in its men's and women's opening matches at the world table tennis championships Friday. In the first Group 3 match on the men's side at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Team Table Tennis Championships, South Korea beat Poland 3-1. In the women's first Group 5 match, South Korea cruised past Italy 3-0. The southeastern port city of Busan will host the competition, which will wrap up Feb. 25. In even-numbered years,

Feb. 16, 2024

Hwang Sun-woo becomes 1st S. Korean swimmer to reach 100m freestyle final at worlds

Hwang Sun-woo has advanced to the final of the men's 100-meter freestyle at the world swimming championships in Qatar, becoming the first South Korean to race for a medal in the event. Hwang finished third overall in the semifinals of the 100m freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships at the Aspire Dome in Doha on Wednesday, with a time of 47.93 seconds. The top eight among 16 swimmers in the semifinals reached the final, which will begin at 1:21 a.m. Friday. Hwang earned his first care

Feb. 15, 2024

[Graphic News] Over half of Americans consider football ‘America’s sport’

Another round of football mania has swept the US, culminating in the victory of the Kansas City Chiefs over the San Francisco 49ers to win the Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 12. For decades, the Super Bowl has been America’s most-watched television program, as football remained the most popular sport since 1972. In comparison, baseball is seeing a general decline in popularity. In 1960, 34 percent of Americans said baseball was their favorite sport, compared to 21 percent for football and 9 perc

Feb. 15, 2024

Swimming sensation Hwang Sun-woo adds world title to expanding resume

At the ripe age of 20, Hwang Sun-woo has already made plenty of South Korean swimming history. He added another feather to his cap in Doha on Tuesday, as he earned the gold medal in the men's 200-meter freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships. By touching the pad in 1:44.75, Hwang became the first South Korean swimmer to win a medal at three world championships in a row. He won silver in 2022 and bronze in 2023. Danas Rapsys of Lithuania took home the silver medal in 1:45.05, and Luke

Feb. 14, 2024

S. Korean swimmer Kim Woo-min captures world title in men's 400m freestyle

South Korean swimmer Kim Woo-min has grabbed the gold medal in the men's 400-meter freestyle at the ongoing world championships in Qatar, becoming the country's world swimming champion in 13 years. Kim won his monumental gold medal with a personal-best time of 3:42.71 at Aspire Dome in Doha on Sunday (local time) at the World Aquatics Championships. Kim held off the 2022 world champion, Elijah Winnington of Australia, by 0.15 second. Lukas Martens of Germany, the bronze medalist at the

Feb. 12, 2024

Speed skater Kim Min-sun finishes 2nd in World Cup standings with silver in finale

South Korean speed skater Kim Min-sun has finished second in the World Cup standings after grabbing a silver medal in her finale in Canada. Kim finished second to Femke Kok of the Netherlands in the second of two women's 500-meter races with a time of 37.91 seconds at the International Skating Union World Cup Speed Skating at Centre de Glaces in Quebec City on Sunday (local time). Kok beat the South Korean by 0.20 second for the gold. On Saturday, it was Kim beating Kok for the gold in the

Feb. 5, 2024

4th Winter Youth Olympics celebrates growth of young athletes in closing ceremony

The fourth edition of the Winter Youth Olympics wrapped up in eastern South Korea on Thursday, as the closing ceremony marked the growth of teenage athletes during the two-week competition. Gangwon Province hosted a record 1,802 athletes from 78 nations during the first Winter Youth Games to take place outside Europe. They got to compete at many of the same facilities that held events for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games across Gangwon. Host South Korea finished with seven gold, six silver and

Feb. 1, 2024

Host S. Korea grabs 2 gold medals on final day of Winter Youth Olympics

South Korea picked up two gold medals on the final day of the Winter Youth Olympics on home soil Thursday, producing a pair of double gold medalists in the process. South Korea captured the gold medal in figure skating's team event at Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung, some 160 kilometers east of Seoul, over the United States and Canada. South Korea earned 13 points, with a victory in each discipline worth five points. The U.S. had 12 points and Canada finished with nine. Kim, who won the me

Feb. 1, 2024

S. Korean Shin Ji-a captures women's figure skating silver at Winter Youth Olympics

South Korean teenager Shin Ji-a won the silver medal in the women's singles figure skating at the Winter Youth Olympics on home ice Tuesday. Shin, 15, became the second straight South Korean medalist in this event, following the 2020 Youth Olympic champion, You Young. Shin scored 191.83 points overall, with 125.35 points in Tuesday's free skate added to 66.48 points from Sunday's short program. Mao Shimada of Japan, the leader after the short program with 71.05 points, earned 125.

Jan. 30, 2024

Snowboarder Lee Chae-un wins slopestyle gold at Winter Youth Olympics

South Korean snowboarder Lee Chae-un grabbed the gold medal in the men's slopestyle at the Winter Youth Olympics at home Thursday, the third gold for the host country of the two-week competition. In the final held at Welli Hilli Park Ski Resort in Hoengseong, Gangwon Province, Lee scored 96.00 points for the first of what could be as many as three gold medals at the Gangwon Winter Youth Games. Eli Bouchard of Canada got the silver medal with 90.00 points, and Romain Allemand of France ear

Jan. 25, 2024

Snow disrupts Youth Olympics in Gangwon; Cold wave alert issued in Seoul

Heavy snowfall pounded the mountainous Gangwon Province on Sunday, where the Winter Youth Olympics are underway, disrupting outdoor competitions and scheduled side events. In the capital Seoul, a cold wave advisory was to take effect from 9 p.m. Sunday, with a significant decline in temperatures expected throughout Monday and Tuesday. According to the Games’ official website, the starting time of the men’s super-G final for Alpine skiing, originally to be held in Jeongseon at 1:30 p.

Jan. 21, 2024

Yoon attends opening ceremony of Winter Youth Olympics

President Yoon Suk Yeol attended the opening ceremony of the Winter Youth Olympics in Gangneung on Friday, declaring the games open and sending his support to the 1,802 athletes from 78 countries. The ceremony was held at Gangneung Oval in the city some 160 kilometers east of Seoul. The competition, open to athletes between the ages of 15 and 18, will wrap up on Feb. 1. The fourth edition of the Winter Youth Olympics is being held in Asia for the first time, with venues in Gangneung, Pyeongchang

Jan. 19, 2024

S. Korean winter sports stars of past, present, future well represented in Youth Olympics ceremony

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- Winter sports stars of the past, the present and the future for South Korea played significant roles in the opening ceremony of the country's first Winter Youth Olympics here Friday. The fourth edition of the youth competition kicked off in the eastern province of Gangwon on Friday night, with Gangneung, some 160 kilometers east of Seoul, and Pyeongchang, just west of Gangneung, simultaneously hosting the opening ceremony. Gangneung Oval, the speed skating venue

Jan. 19, 2024

1st Winter Youth Olympics in Asia to open in S. Korea

The fourth edition of the Winter Youth Olympics will open in eastern South Korea on Friday night, as the eyes of the winter sports world once again turn to Gangwon Province six years after the Winter Olympics in the region. Gangwon Province will serve as the first Asian host of the quadrennial youth winter sports event, following Innsbruck of Austria, Lillehammer of Norway and Lausanne of Switzerland. The competition, open to athletes between 15 and 18 years of age, will wrap up on Feb. 1. This

Jan. 19, 2024

IOC official sees Winter Youth Olympics in S. Korea as 'legacy in action'

With the South Korean eastern province of Gangwon set to host the Winter Youth Olympics six years after staging the country's first-ever Winter Games, the youth event represents "legacy in action," a senior official with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Thursday. Christophe Dubi, executive director of the Olympic Games at the IOC, said at a press conference that the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics, which will open Friday, will successfully carry on the legacy from the

Jan. 18, 2024

Mixed gender events to replace mixed country competition at Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics

The 2024 Winter Youth Olympics taking place in South Korea's Gangwon Province has a few "firsts" to its credit. This is the first Winter Youth Games taking place outside Europe, with Austria, Norway and Switzerland having held the previous three editions. Gangwon 2024 is also the first Olympic Games whose host was selected in a revamped International Olympic Committee bidding process. Instead of pitting candidates against one another in a vote, the IOC chose a "preferred host

Jan. 18, 2024

Teen luger hoping to use Youth Olympics as 'stepping stone' for 2026 Winter Games

Kim Bo-keun grew up playing baseball in the baseball-crazed city of Busan. While he was taking a break from the sport, Kim found himself at a national luge start competition in July 2020, after some nudging from his older brother, who had already taken up the sliding sport. Kim finished third in that event. Impressed with Kim's raw athleticism, a luge coach on the scene approached him. Once the coach found out Kim was 14 years old, he told the teenager that he would be eligible for the Wint

Jan. 17, 2024