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[스포츠뉴스]Olympics a test of mettle — and medals — for East Asia in winter sports

온카뱅크관리자

2026-02-23 16:01:00

<div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/23/0000084762_001_20260223160109345.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Shown are Korean medalists on the podium during the 2026 Winter Games. The Milan-Cortina Olympics concluded with a closing ceremony on Feb. 23. Korea finished with three gold, four silver and three bronze medals. [YONHAP]</em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> Four years after Beijing reshaped the balance of power in East Asian winter sport, the Milan-Cortina Games redrew it again. Korea searched for stability beyond the ice, Japan delivered the deepest and most complete performance in its history and China discovered that dominance at home does not always travel.  <br>    <br> The three nations have long treated the Winter Games &#8212; and the Asian Winter Games &#8212; as parallel proving grounds. In Italy, their medal totals told three very different stories about direction and depth.  <br>    <br>  <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/23/0000084762_002_20260223160109595.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Choi Ga-on competes in the women's snowboard halfpipe at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Livigno, Italy, on Feb. 12. [YONHAP] </em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> <b>Korea: Reinventing the blueprint</b>  <br>    <br> Before the opening ceremony, U.S. magazine Sports Illustrated and other international outlets projected Korea for two to three gold medals and a finish between 14th and 15th in the standings. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee set its sights higher: at least three gold medals and a top-10 result.  <br>    <br> Korea ultimately claimed 10 medals &#8212; three gold, four silver and three bronze. The number aligned with outside expectations. The path to get there did not.  <br>    <br> Short track speed skating has long been the backbone of Korea’s Winter Olympic success. This time, the men’s team, widely expected to deliver at least one gold, came away empty.  <br>    <br> Speed skating failed to reach the podium for the first time since the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.   <br>    <br> Instead, the breakthrough came on snow.  <br>    <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/23/0000084762_003_20260223160109855.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Kim Sang-kyum of Korea in action during the men's parallel giant slalom final against Benjamin Karl of Austria (not pictured) at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Livigno, Italy, on Feb. 8. [REUTERS/YONHAP]</em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/23/0000084762_004_20260223160110198.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Yu Seung-eun competes in the women's snowboard big air at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Livigno, Italy, on Feb. 9. [YONHAP]</em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> Choi Ga-on, 17, captured gold in the women’s snowboard halfpipe. Kim Sang-kyum, 37, added silver in the men’s parallel giant slalom and Yu Seung-eun, 18, took bronze in the women’s big air. Snowboarding supplied the medals &#8212; and the momentum.  <br>    <br> The takeaway was layered. Korea broadened its portfolio but saw its foundation wobble. The next four years will test whether this was a transitional dip or the start of a structural change.  <br><br><b>Japan: Depth over dependence</b>  <br>    <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/23/0000084762_005_20260223160110326.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan, gold medalists of the pair skating competition, perform during the figure skating exhibition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 21.  [AP/YONHAP]</em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> Japan did not rely on a single surge. It stacked results across events.  <br>    <br> With 24 medals &#8212; five gold, seven silver and 12 bronze &#8212; Japan recorded its highest Winter Olympic medal total. Snowboarding anchored the surge with three gold medals, reinforcing its status as a global power in the sport.  <br>    <br> Figure skating delivered a milestone. Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara captured Japan’s first Olympic gold medal in pairs, a breakthrough in a discipline long dominated by other nations.  <br>    <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/23/0000084762_006_20260223160110441.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">From left, men's snowboard slopestyle silver medalist Japan's Taiga Hasegawa, gold medalist Mari Fukada and bronze medalist Kokomo Murase hold their medals after the women's snowboarding slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, on Feb. 18. [AP/YONHAP]</em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> Japanese media framed the outcome as a system-wide achievement. Commentators described it as a transformation into a snowboarding powerhouse and overall leveling up across events.  <br>    <br> The Yomiuri Shimbun emphasized that it reflected “balanced development across all disciplines, not a one-off surge in a single event.”  <br>    <br> Youth underpinned the optimism. Many of Japan’s medalists should still be in their prime by 2030, when the Winter Games head back to the Alps. The performance here looked less like a peak and more like a checkpoint.  <br><br><b>China: A warning sign on the road</b>  <br>    <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/23/0000084762_007_20260223160110662.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">China’s Lin Xiaojun reacts after finishing fourth in his heat and failing to advance to the semifinals in the men’s 500 meters quarterfinals in short track speed skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 18. [NEWS1]</em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> China matched its overall medal count from Beijing with 15 &#8212; five gold, four silver and six bronze &#8212; but the comparison ended there.  <br>    <br> In 2022, China converted home advantage into nine gold medals and a fourth-place finish in the standings. In Italy, the gold total dropped sharply.  <br>    <br> Freestyle skiing star Eileen Gu, who won three gold medals in Beijing, secured one gold and two silver medals. Gu was born in the United States but competes for China, and is also called by her Chinese name Gu Ailing.  <br>    <br> State news agency Xinhua acknowledged that Gu did not reproduce the "overwhelming" dominance she showed in Beijing.  <br>    <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/02/23/0000084762_008_20260223160110761.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">China's Eileen Gu poses with her medals after winning the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, on Feb. 22. [AP/YONHAP]</em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> Short track skater Lin Xiaojun, a Korea-born athlete who now represents China, did not reach the podium.  <br>    <br> Both athletes represent China as naturalized competitors, and their muted impact reignited debate about long-term planning. Chinese sports officials have stressed that the country must move away from dependence on overseas star athletes.  <br>    <br> Ning Zhongyan’s gold medal in the men’s 1,500 meters in speed skating offered a reminder of China’s individual brilliance. But broader concerns lingered.   <br>    <br> Ahead of the Games, Liu Yu, a Beijing-based sports commentator, assessed that "the overall strength of China's winter sports has not undergone a fundamental shift, with core competitiveness still being concentrated," according to the Global Times.  <br>    <br> Tong Lixin, deputy head of the Chinese delegation, said China still sees itself as playing catch-up in global winter sports and acknowledged that long-term development remains necessary.  <br>    <br> "We must recognize that we still lag behind the world's winter sports powers," he said, as quoted by the Global Times.   <br><br><i>This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.</i>

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