From uphill battles to downhill success, alpine skier Jung Dong-hyun caps 5 Games in Milan 작성일 02-23 27 목록 <div class="ab_photo photo_center "> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/23/0000084736_001_20260223050108812.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Jung Dong-hyun competes in the first run of the men's giant slalom alpine skiing event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Stelvia Ski Centre on Feb. 14. [AFP/YONHAP]</em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> <br>Korea’s alpine skiing pioneer, Jung Dong-hyun, wrote his name in the Korean Winter Olympic history books with his fifth appearance on Monday, finishing 33rd in the men’s giant slalom at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games — tying for a best-ever finish by a Korean Skier. <br> <br>Jung recorded a combined time of 2 minutes, 35.41 seconds on Saturday and landed 33rd, even with Hur Seung-wook's record in 1998. Jung, along with Hur, is one of the very few athletes who participated in the Winter Olympics five times in a row. <br> <br> The skier, however, recorded a DNF in the men's slalom's first run on Monday. <br> <br> <b> <br> </b> <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center "> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/23/0000084736_002_20260223050108861.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Jung Dong-hyun competes in the first run of the men's giant slalom alpine skiing event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Stelvia Ski Centre on Feb. 14. [AFP/YONHAP]</em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> <br> Jung specializes in the slalom, which has the shortest course and requires skiers to take on sharp and tight turns around the gates, while the giant slalom features a longer course, which allows athletes to go for wider turns at a higher speed. <br> <br> The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games marked his fifth appearance at the Olympics in a journey that began 16 years ago at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. However, his path to becoming the face of Korean alpine skiing has been anything but a smooth downhill glide. <br> <br> Born in Goseon county in Gangwon, near the slopes of a ski resort, Jung naturally began skiing at the age of three and quickly rose to prominence as a skier. <br> <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center "> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/23/0000084736_003_20260223050108915.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">In 2002, at the age of 12, Jung Dong-hyun, right, after winning three gold medals at the National Winter Sports Festival and being named the most valuable player, a first for an elementary school student. [JOONGANG ILBO] </em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> <br> In 2002, at the age of 12, Jung won three gold medals at the National Winter Sports Festival and was named the most valuable player — a first for an elementary school student. <br> <br> But since the early stages of his career, Jung has been fighting with different injuries. In 2006, he had to undergo surgery for a herniated disc, and had to battle through a fractured finger in 2009. <br> <br> His first Olympic entry in 2010 was also interrupted by a right thigh injury, which he suffered only a week before the Games after his leg was cut by the sharp edge of a ski at the National Winter Sports Festival. <br> <br> Although Jung bravely soldiered on to the Olympics after undergoing treatment to stitch the wound, he ended up having to give up the race due to the injury. <br> <br> “I think I was living with injuries every few years,” the skier said in an interview with JTBC ahead of the 2026 Olympics. “I do think getting injuries is a necessary part of being an athlete, but it takes time to get back on track, and that’s been tough for me.” <br> <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center "> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/23/0000084736_004_20260223050108998.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Jung Dong-hyun in 2017 [KOREA SKI ASSOCIATION]</em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> <br> While such setbacks end many careers, Jung persisted. He captured gold at the 2011 Astana-Almaty Asian Winter Games and again at the 2017 Sapporo Asian Winter Games. He also finished 14th at the FIS World Cup in Zagreb, Croatia, claiming the highest-ever finish by a Korean skier at the World Cup. <br> <br> Even into his 30s, Jung continued to perform. At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, he finished 21st in the men’s slalom, delivering yet another highest-ever finish by a Korean in alpine skiing. The success continued as he won silver at the Harbin Asian Winter Games in 2025. <br> <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center "> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/23/0000084736_005_20260223050109050.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Jung Dong-hyun competes during the men's slalom of alpine skiing event at the Asian Winter Games on Feb. 9, 2025. [XINHUA/YONHAP]</em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> <br>"The joy [of alpine skiing] comes when I'm done with the course, after taking every turn," Jung said in an interview with JTBC, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily. <br> <b> <br> </b> <br> "The sense of joy I feel after I achieve a good time, that's the charm for me." <br> <br> [insert details of his Olympic performance ] <br> <br> With the xxth finish at his fifth Olympics, Jung showed that age is just a number. <br> <br> He now hopes that more people become interested in alpine skiing, a sport that not many Koreans are familiar with. <br> <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center "> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/23/0000084736_006_20260223050109103.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Jung Dong-hyun competes in the first run of the men's giant slalom alpine skiing event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Stelvia Ski Centre on Feb. 14. [AFP/YONHAP]</em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> <br> “It’s not a popular sport, and I hope people take more interest in it and support the athletes." <br> 관련자료 이전 "4년 뒤엔 어쩌나" 韓 남자 노골드 아쉬움... 대비 안하면 큰 참사 온다 [2026 밀라노] 02-23 다음 13세 전엔 점수 기록 NO…'놀이'로 즐겼더니, 메달이 쏟아졌다 02-23 댓글 0 등록된 댓글이 없습니다. 로그인한 회원만 댓글 등록이 가능합니다.
