▲ South Korean short track speed skaters leave the ice at Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing on Feb. 5, 2022, after finishing third in their quarterfinal heat of the mixed team relay at the Beijing Winter Olympics. (Yonhap)
▲ South Korean cross-country skier Lee Chae-won competes in the women's 7.5km+7.5km skiathlon event at the Beijing Winter Olympics at Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre in Zhangjiakou, northwest of Beijing, on Feb. 5, 2022. (Yonhap)

(Olympics) S Korea recap-Day 1

(Olympics) S. Korea goes without medal on 1st day

By Yoo Jee-ho

BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's hopes of winning a medal on the first day of full competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics on Saturday were dashed in short track speed skating.

The mixed relay team couldn't even get out of the quarterfinals at Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, with Park Jang-hyuk falling without contact with three laps left in the 18-lap competition.

South Korea, which also sent Choi Min-jeong, Lee Yu-bin and Hwang Dae-heon to the ice, finished third in its quarterfinal heat. The top two nations from each of the three races, plus the two-best third-place teams, reached the semifinals. South Korea came in third place in the rankings of No. 3 teams from the quarterfinals.

The first medals of these Winter Games were awarded in the women's 7.5km+7.5km skiathlon in cross-country skiing. Therese Johaug of Norway grabbed the gold medal, and South Korean Lee Chae-won finished in 61st place among 62 who finished the race.

Lee, 40, has tied the record for most Olympic appearances by a South Korean athlete, Winter or Summer.

South Korea will likely remain without a medal for another day Sunday, with the men's cross-country skiing and men's luge events scheduled.

Its medal chase will resume in earnest on Monday with the women's 500m and the men's 1,000m races in short track speed skating.

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