[Courtesy of IBSF]
South Korean bobsleigh team grabbed a gold medal at the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup race on Saturday. The team not only grabbed gold medal but had their names on the top of the world ranking.
The duo Won Yun-jong and Seo Young-soo came in first, tied with Switzerland, recording a total lap time of 1 minute and 43.41 seconds (race 1 and 2 combined). Russia came second with a total lap time of 1 minute and 43.42 seconds, only 0.01 of a second behind, achieved a bronze medal.
Won and Seo also gained 225 points in the world rankings, resulting in a total of 1001 points, and ranking them on the top of the list.
This achievement by the duo is a remarkable one, considering that the history of South Korean bobsleighing is very short. In 2008, at America’s Cup race, the South Korean team rode a bobsleigh with “USA” printed on its side Instead of “KOREA”. The team could not afford to buy a new bobsleigh, so they rented a secondhand one for U.S$ 500. Two of four members were from skeleton team.
Even with the odds at their hand, the team did great and achieved a bronze medal. The team was also given a nickname “Korean Cool Runnings”, which were taken off a movie “Cool Runnings”. The film depicts Jamaican bobsleigh team tackling obstacles to compete in the international level. The Jamaican team and the Korean team shared similar backgrounds.
After 2008, the bobsleigh team did get the attention they wanted and was supported by the government and sponsors. With the full support, the team made the qualifications in 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, and in 2013, the team won its first gold medal at the America’s Cup.
The team also received unimaginable help from the late Malcom “Gomer” Lloyd, who passed away earlier this month. Lloyd joined the South Korean team in 2014, and applied European style of training, increasing the skills and fitness levels of the tea, greatly.
아주경제 박세진 기자 = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
![[OLY] Top organizer expects no deficit in Winter Olympics: Yonhap](https://image.ajunews.com/content/image/2018/02/25/20180225125700723467.jpg)
