Short track always looks perilous. The first place position changes in a single moment and victory is decided by the difference of a skate blade. The speed is fast, so you have to have the physique and the agility. Blink and you are going to be pushed to the wayside. In middle and long distance races require endurance and well-planned tactics. Even if you do well you're nervous about the judge making a strange decision.
Korea took six of the eight medals waiting for the taking in the short track at the Winter Olympics at Turin. That is the best performance ever. Ahn Hyun Soo and Jin Sun Yu were crowned with three medals. All Korea's achievements in the category were in their late teens and early twenties. Each overflows with youthful ambition. They are proud and commanding. Sometimes they fell behind and fell over, but in they were victorious in the end. It was as if they had deliberately scripted dramatic situations just to savor victory all the more. Watching them you see Korea's dynamic future.
It was not easy getting this far. A year ago Korean short track was a disappointment for the ugly sight of seeing a coach slapping people, and at one point athletes refused to live in the training village. There were constant rumors about factionalist infighting. The way they endured a most difficult time makes their victories all the more worthy of praise. That does not mean that the end results wipe away all the problems. That which needs to be changed must be corrected. It will be hard to move forward in the future unless there is thorough introspection and reform.
Korea's youth are as talented and determined in every field, just as much as youth everywhere around the globe. Korea should be able to score gold medals in speed skating, track and field, and swimming as well, and young Koreans should be able to work as equals with others in science and technology, art, literature, and volunteer service as much as in sports. It is the responsibility of the older generation to support them by providing conditions in which they can do all that they are capable of.
The Hankyoreh, 27 February 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] Young Koreans' Accomplishments in Turin |
