South Korea’s Rising Winter Sports Stars to Watch at the Milan-Cortina Olympics

Short-track skater Lim Jong-eon has been highlighted by the International Olympic Committee as a breakout prospect. [Photo=Yonhap/Reuters]

The 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics are expected to be a key test of South Korea’s next generation in winter sports. The Games will show whether South Korea can broaden its medal hopes beyond ice events to snow sports, while a younger core takes on leading roles.

◆Short track: Lim Jong-eon, Kim Gil-li in focus

Short track remains South Korea’s strongest Olympic sport, and Lim Jong-eon, 19, has emerged as a headline prospect. The International Olympic Committee said on its website on Feb. 2 (local time) that Lim was one of its “10 rising athletes who will shine at the 2026 Winter Olympics,” the only South Korean on the list.

The IOC called him “the next ace of the South Korean team,” noting he won the national trials by beating 2022 Beijing Olympic gold medalist Hwang Dae-heon.

Lim earned the national team spot last April with 102 points, finishing ahead of Hwang and Park Ji-won. In his World Cup debut season on the International Skating Union circuit in 2025-26, he won gold in the 1,500 meters and silver in the 1,000 in October in Montreal. He added a 1,000 win in November in Dordrecht, Netherlands, and finished fourth overall in the 1,000 standings in his first senior season.

Kim Gil-li, competing in her first Olympics, is entered in five events at the Milan-Cortina Games: the mixed 2,000 relay, women’s 3,000 relay, and the 500, 1,000 and 1,500. [Photo=Yonhap]

On the women’s side, Kim Gil-li, 22, is set for her first Olympics and will skate five events: the mixed 2,000-meter relay, women’s 3,000 relay, and the 500, 1,000 and 1,500. Her main event is the 1,500.

On Feb. 4, Canadian sports analytics firm Shoreview Sports Analytics projected that “Kim Gil-li will win” the 1,500.

Kim moved into the senior ranks in the 2022-23 season and quickly rose. In 2023-24, her second senior season, she won the overall ISU World Cup title to become world No. 1, the first South Korean women’s short-track skater to claim the Crystal Globe.

At the Harbin Asian Winter Games last February, she won the women’s 1,500 and the mixed relay for two gold medals. She took silver in the 1,000 and 500 behind South Korea’s top skater, Choi Min-jeong, 28.

◆A new wave after Lee Sang-hwa and Kim Yu-na

Speed skater Lee Na-hyeon trains at Taereung International Skating Rink in Seoul. [Photo=Yonhap]

In women’s speed skating, Lee Na-hyeon, 21, is aiming to fill the sprint void left after Lee Sang-hwa’s retirement. In the 2023-24 season, Lee Na-hyeon set a junior world record of 37.34 seconds in the women’s 500 at the fifth ISU World Cup stop. In the 2025-26 World Cup season, she ranked fourth in the women’s 500 across stops 1-4.

She also raised her profile at the Harbin Asian Winter Games, winning the women’s 100 by beating South Korea’s sprint star Kim Min-seon, 27. Lee Na-hyeon added gold in the team sprint and silver in the women’s 500.

Shin Ji-a performs in the women’s singles free skate at the national championships and second national team trials at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul. [Photo=Yonhap]

Figure skater Shin Ji-a, 18, will also make her Olympic debut. South Korea has not produced an Olympic figure-skating medalist since Kim Yu-na won gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games and silver at the 2014 Sochi Games.

Shin dominated as a junior, winning silver at the junior world championships four straight years from 2022 through 2025. She also took silver at the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics. After becoming age-eligible for seniors, she won both the first and second national team trials to secure an Olympic berth.

◆Choi Ga-on, Lee Chae-woon aim at first snow gold

Choi Ga-on, a teenage standout in women’s snowboard halfpipe, is considered a strong gold-medal contender at the Milan-Cortina Olympics. [Photo=Yonhap/Reuters]

Snow events have long been a weak spot for South Korea at the Winter Olympics. The country’s only medal in a snow sport is Lee Sang-ho’s silver in snowboard parallel giant slalom at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

This time, South Korea’s snowboard halfpipe team has drawn talk of possible medals for both men and women.

Choi Ga-on, 18, is viewed as a top gold contender in the women’s halfpipe. Forbes reported on Feb. 3 that Choi could be “the strongest challenger” to Chloe Kim, who is seeking a third straight Olympic title. Forbes added that if Choi wins gold, she would also break the record for the youngest Olympic snowboard gold medalist.

Choi won the pipe event at the X Games in January 2023 at age 14 years, 3 months, setting a record as the youngest champion. In the 2025-26 season, she won three times on the International Ski and Snowboard Federation World Cup circuit and is ranked No. 1 in women’s halfpipe.

Lee Chae-woon is South Korea’s first snowboard world champion. [Photo=Yonhap]

On the men’s side, Lee Chae-woon, 20, is the leading halfpipe hope. He broke through in 2019 by winning big air at the World Rookie Tour at age 13, then became the inaugural champion of the FIS Snowboard Halfpipe Asian Cup in 2020.

At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, he competed as the youngest athlete on South Korea’s team and finished 14th. His rise continued in 2023 at the Bakuriani world championships, where he won gold at age 16 years, 10 months, becoming the youngest champion and South Korea’s first snowboard world champion.

He later won two gold medals at the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics in halfpipe and slopestyle, and took gold in slopestyle at the Harbin Asian Winter Games.

Lee’s momentum was interrupted by a torn knee meniscus in August 2024, followed by knee surgery last March. He struggled in World Cup events this season, but showed signs of a rebound on Jan. 18 at the Laax World Cup in Switzerland, finishing eighth for his best result of the season.