Short track skaters Hwang, Kwak give up competing for national team

South Korean short track medalists Hwang Dae-heon and Kwak Yoon-gy withdrew from the national team’s selection contest for the next season.

They participated on the first day of the first selection contest for the national team 2022-2023 season held at Taereung Indoor Ice Rink in Seoul on Wednesday. However, both the athletes declared to drop out of the competition on the second day. Short track men’s 1,500-meter gold medalist Hwang Dae-heon in the Beijing Olympics joined forces with Kwak in the men’s 5,000-meter relay to win silver.

Lianat, Hwang’s agency, announced that Hwang gave up on the remaining races as he felt bad after testing positive for COVID-19. Hwang fell and failed in the men’s 1,500-meter semifinal while he was disqualified although finishing in 1st place in the 500-meter final on Wednesday. Hwang was quoted by the agency, saying, “Although I have dropped out of this competition, I will take it as an opportunity to give myself time to recharge this season and give it a try at being part of the national team next year.”

Kwak slipped and fell in the men’s 1,500-meter quarterfinal on Wednesday, leaving him injured to give up on the competition. Brion Company, Kwak’s agency, said that he was diagnosed with a muscle strain in the left thigh according to MRI imaging.


Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com