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[스포츠뉴스]From pacemaker to veteran, for speed skater Chung Jae-won it can be lonely at the top

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2026-02-22 09:02:00

<div class="ab_photo photo_center ">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/22/0000084704_001_20260222090312022.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Chung Jae-won after finishing fifth at the men's mass start at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Feb. 21. [KIM JONG-HO] </em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> Long-distance speed skater Chung Jae-won secured fifth place as he navigated the chaos of the mass start completely unassisted on Saturday, pacing for no one and with no one pacing for him.    <br>    <br> Though he narrowly missed his third Olympic medal, Chung's journey in the mass start finals shows that it can be lonely at the top of the Korean national speed skating team.  <br>    <br> “I thought I had trained harder and more seriously this time than I did for any previous Olympics, but ultimately, there were people who put in more effort than I did,” Chung said after the match on Saturday. "It seems I was mistaken."   <br>    <br> "I'm determined to become a skater who continues to grow by preparing even more fiercely and thoroughly."   <br>    <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/22/0000084704_002_20260222090312126.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Chung Jae-won at the men's mass start semifinals at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics on Feb. 21. [NEWS1]</em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> Long before Chung stood tall as the veteran of the Korean team, he was the youngest Korean speed skater to shine on an Olympic podium on home turf in PyeongChang in 2018, claiming silver at the age of 16 in the Speed Skating men’s team pursuit.  <br>    <br> Back then, he was the third skater, behind legend Lee Seung-hoon, who then had the most Winter Olympic medals for Korea, and Kim Min-seok, who now skates for Hungary after being banned from the Korean team due to a drunk-driving incident in 2022.  <br>    <br> Chung also made his mark in those Games as Korea's pacemaker for the mass start event, holding his position before making way for Lee to cross the line for gold. In a crowded field with 16 racers skating together around the oval, Chung's efforts to support Lee culminated in an eighth-place finish.  <br>    <br> While the role is considered by some to be a necessity in a team event to provide the top skater with the best chance at a medal, it is nonetheless a somewhat thankless task that all but precludes its bearer from podium contention.  <br>    <br> Chung, though, pulled off the sacrificial role successfully thanks to his mindset: that the experience was "necessary" for his growth as a better athlete.  <br>    <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/22/0000084704_003_20260222090312179.jpg" alt="" /></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div> </div>    <br> That mindset paid off. Chung won bronze at the 2019 Inzell World Single Distances Championships and brought home his first gold in mass start at the International Skating Union’s Speed Skating World Cup Final in the Netherlands in 2020.  <br>    <br> His growth as a speed skater and his rising presence as a national team member were on full display at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. The 21-year-old was no longer the teenage rookie of the team, but a partial veteran who was able to cooperate and co-plan with Lee to grab a second Olympic silver at the mass start, just pipping Lee, who claimed the bronze.  <br>    <br> “I grew a lot through the pacemaker plan we had at the PyeongChang Olympics, and that’s what produced this result," he said after taking home silver in 2022.  <br>    <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/22/0000084704_004_20260222090312225.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Chung Jae-won, left, and Lee Seung-hoon celebrate after medaling in the men's mass start at the 2022 Beijing Olympics on Saturday. [YONHAP]</em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div> His ascent took a hit in the summer after the Beijing Games, when he found himself embroiled in a drunk-driving incident with Kim, who was caught driving &#8212; and crashing &#8212; a car on the national training center grounds. While Chung wasn't behind the wheel, he was still punished for violating the no-drinking rule during training periods, as well as for abetting a crime.  <br>    <br> The result was a two-month suspension for Chung, while Kim received an 18-month suspension and a two-year ban from the national team. The penalty compelled Kim to give up his nationality for a second chance in Hungary &#8212; and opened a void that was filled by Chung.  <br>    <br> Instead of letting the incident derail his career, Chung pounced on the opportunity to prove himself as a more senior member of the team, winning two golds at the 2023 Four Continents Championships in Quebec in the mass start and team pursuit. He took home another Gold at the Salt Lake City Four Continents Championships in 2024, before getting married in March.  <br>    <br> Despite contracting pneumonia in early 2025, Chung still managed to best Lee again two years after beating him to the silver in 2024 &#8212; this time for an Olympic spot.  <br>    <br> Nearly a decade after serving as a pacemaker for the speed skating legend, Chung now finds himself as the de facto leader of the Korean speed skating team.  <br> <br>At the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, Chung had plans of focusing solely on the mass start to maximize his performance. But a last-minute withdrawal opened a spot for him in the 1,500-meter race just days before the main event.   <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/640/2026/02/22/0000084704_005_20260222090312294.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc"> Chung Jae-won at the men's 1500-meter speed skating at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics on Feb. 19. [NEWS1] </em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div> <b>   <br> </b>  <br> Chung, despite not having previous experience of competing in the 1,500 meters at the Olympics, finished 14th with a time of 1:45.80 on Thursday.  <br>    <br> At the mass start on Saturday, Chung cruised through his semifinal and secured a comfortable third-place finish. Chung's fellow teammate Cho Seung-min, however, was not able to advance to the finals, leaving the veteran speed skater on his own and, crucially, without any pacemaker.  <br> <b>   <br> </b>  <br> Chung went for a conservative tempo in his early laps, managing his energy. That approach proved to be costly, with Jorrit Bergsma of the Netherlands and Viktor Hald Thorup of Denmark able to put themselves unattainably far ahead within the early going. Chung battled through the crowded field in the final stretch, but the best he could manage was a hard-fought fifth place.  <br> <b>   <br> </b>  <br> After the race, Chung couldn't help but think of Lee, who now sat in the commentator's seat at the Olympics.   <br> <b>   <br> </b>  <br> "I believe I was able to achieve good results by sharing ideas and learning from Lee Seung-hoon's expertise," Chung said. "I don't think I was able to prepare as well for this competition because he wasn't here."  <br> <br>"I felt his absence deeply and realized a great deal. I will strive to gain more experience so that I can eventually become the kind of anchor for the team that he was."   <br>    <br> Chung said he will "prepare fiercely" for the next Olympics. But for now, will be going back to his wife, whom he married in 2024.  <br>    <br> "I want to spend time with my wife that we've missed out on while I was preparing for the Olympics."   <br>

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