Hangzhou, China, October 2 (Yonhap) – No competitive athlete tries to finish second. The ultimate goal is always to win the top prize.
This is also the goal of the Korean women’s roller skating relay team at the Asian Games in China. But after winning the silver medal, Li Xie, Park Mingjing and Li Yelin said they were happy with the color of their medals, knowing that their courageous efforts had laid the foundation for a bright future together.
In the women’s 3,000-meter relay held at the Qintang Roller Skating Center in Hangzhou, South Korea finished second with a time of 4:21.146. The Chinese Taipei team won the gold medal with a time of 4:19.447.
South Korean figure skaters Lee Xie, Park Mingjing and Li Yelin (from left) celebrate on the podium at the medal ceremony after winning the Asian Games silver medal in the women’s 3000 meter relay at the Qintang Roller Sports Center on October 2, 2023 at Held in Hangzhou, China. (Yonhap News Agency)
“We have all been preparing for this race for over four years and have given our all on this track,” said 31-year-old team veteran Lee Seul. “Obviously there is a little disappointment, but I think we can learn from this experience and do better in the future.”
Lee, the youngest skater at 21, said she was grateful that all three competitors were able to finish without injury.
“I think this experience will allow me to continue to grow as an athlete,” Lee said. “I will work hard to overcome my weaknesses and play better games in the future.”
Since its debut in 2010, roller skating has been in and out of the Asian Games many times. There will be no speed skating competitions in 2018, only road races will take place. Athletics is back this year with the women’s and men’s 3,000m relays debuting at the Asian Games on Monday.
Li Yilin said her athletic future at the Asian Games is unclear, making preparations for the mainland competition even more difficult than they already are.
South Korean figure skaters Lee Xie, Park Mingjing and Li Yelin (from left) celebrate on the podium at the medal ceremony after winning the Asian Games silver medal in the women’s 3000 meter relay at the Qintang Roller Sports Center on October 2, 2023 at Held in Hangzhou, China. (Yonhap News Agency)
“Since this is my first Asian Games, two of my teammates faced much more challenges than me,” she said. “I think we’ve come this far because we rely on each other and push each other. If the relay comes back at the next Asian Games, we will try to win the gold medal.”
The Chinese Taipei team led the Korean team on the third lap of the 15-lap final and never relinquished the lead throughout the rest of the race. But Park said Chinese Taipei can be defeated.
“In Hangzhou we didn’t have as much time to train on this track as we would have liked. We didn’t see this place until we got really close to the race,” Parker said. “Even though we had really good chemistry, we weren’t able to capitalize on it because we weren’t completely familiar with the track. If we have enough time to adapt to the environment in future races, I think we will be able to compete with the China team competing in Taipei. “
South Korean figure skaters Lee Xie, Lee Yelin and Park Minjun (from left) pose for a photo after winning the silver medal in the women’s 3000m relay at the Asian Games at the Qintang Roller Skating Center in Hangzhou, China, 2 October. 2023. (Yonhap News Agency)
Post time: May-30-2024