Chinese media “Lim Hyo-joon, a big burden for Korean prospects to play a big role”
Short track speed skating Lim Hyo-jun (26) won his first medal in the International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup series after naturalizing in China in the mixed relay event.
Lim Hyo-joon finished the 2022-23 Short Track World Cup 3rd World Cup, which ended on the 12th (hereinafter Korean time) at the Khalik Arena in Almaty, Kazakhstan, as a runner-up in the mixed relay.
After changing his nationality, his best performance in the individual event in the World Cup series was 18th in the men’s 1500m event. Chinese sports media ‘Hwatiwang’ reported, “According to Chinese national team staff under coach Zhang Jing (49), it is not a technical problem.”
Following the 1500m gold medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Lim Hyo-jun won five gold medals including the individual all-around championship at the 2019 World Championships, standing tall as the strongest short track speed skater.
‘Hwatiwang’ found the cause of the World Cup series slump in psychological reasons, saying, “Lim Hyo-joon is feeling a lot of pressure from the rise of young Korean players.”
Kim Tae-seong (21, Dankook University) won 1 gold and 2 bronzes in the individual event in the World Cup series, which debuted this season. Hong Kyung-hwan (23, Goyang City Hall) was named in the top 5 of the two world rankings, including 1st place in the 1000m and 3rd place in the 1500m.
Lim Hyo-jun renounced his Korean citizenship in June 2020. However, it was not until the 2022-23 season that the Chinese national short track team officially joined the national short track team, as it was blocked by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regulations that “you can only represent another country after three years of participating in world federation-sanctioned and supervised competitions for each event.” 토토사이트
“The King of Hwati” said, “Currently, Lim Hyo-joon has not reached the world’s highest level that he showed in the past. He analyzed that he needs confidence to regain his former status in international competitions, which have returned after four seasons.”
He has to perform well to gain confidence. For Lim Hyo-jun, Korean athletes in their early 20s are on the rise, and the reality that Park Ji-won (26, Seoul City Hall), the same age as him, born in 1996, is ranked second in the 1000 and 1500m world rankings, is also burdensome.
‘Hwatiwang’ said, “Hyojun Lim must have experienced ups and downs in his heart after experiencing the very strong Korean short track speed skating men’s team on the international stage even if he was not confident.” It was hoped that it would help stabilize the person.
