▲ South Korean short track speed skater Hwang Dae-heon (R) shakes hands with Korea Skating Union President Yoon Hong-geun after being named an honorary ambassador for the International Skating Union World Short Track Speed Skating Championships during a ceremony in Seoul on Feb. 9, 2023. (Yonhap)
▲ South Korean short track speed skater Hwang Dae-heon speaks after being named an honorary ambassador for the International Skating Union World Short Track Speed Skating Championships during a ceremony in Seoul on Feb. 9, 2023. (Yonhap)

short track competition-athlete

Olympic short track champion Hwang Dae-heon named honorary ambassador for world championships in Seoul

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Olympic short track speed skating champion Hwang Dae-heon was appointed as an honorary ambassador for the upcoming world championships in Seoul on Thursday.

The Korea Skating Union (KSU) announced Hwang, the 2022 Olympic gold medalist in the men's 1,500 meters, as the goodwill ambassador for the International Skating Union World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, set to run from March 10-12 at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul.

Hwang, who also won silver in the 5,000m relay in Beijing, will not skate at the world championships. Citing fatigue and poor form, Hwang pulled out of the national team trials for the 2022-2023 season in May last year, and is not eligible to compete internationally this campaign.

"It's an honor to be named a goodwill ambassador for such a big competition," said Hwang, whose 1,500m Olympic title was the first gold for South Korea in Beijing. "I will take to social media and other channels to promote this event the best I can. We're a powerhouse in short track, and I want the country to enjoy success both on and off the ice."

South Korea had been scheduled to host the world championships in March 2020, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

South Korea is staging the top short track competition for the fourth time, after 2001, 2008 and 2016.

The KSU expects some 260 skaters from 35 countries in action. South Korean Choi Min-jeong, the defending world overall champion, will take the ice, while the men's competition will feature Park Ji-won, the current leader in the ISU World Cup overall standings.

Individual races will be the 500m, 1,000m and 1,500m for both women and men. The women will also compete in the 3,000m relay, while the men's relay will be 5,000m long. The 2,000m mixed relay will make its world championships debut in Seoul.

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