Lee Na Hyun skates in the women’s 1,000 meters at the 2026 Milano-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics at the speedskating stadium in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 9. [Photo by Yonhap]
Lee Na Hyun of Korea National Sport University became the first South Korean to finish in the top 10 of the Olympic women’s 1,000 meters and said she will now focus on chasing a medal in her main event, the 500.
After the race on Monday (Korea time), Lee said, “It wasn’t a perfect race, but I think I set a meaningful time,” adding, “If I prepare well, I think I can try for a medal in the 500.”
Lee finished ninth in 1 minute, 15.76 seconds. The result surpassed the previous best South Korean finish in the women’s 1,000, 11th by Yoo Sun Hee at the 1992 Albertville Games.
“I thought I could maybe get as high as seventh if things went well,” Lee said. “I didn’t reach my target place, but it’s still a meaningful result, so I’m satisfied.”
Lee said she will use what she learned in the 1,000 to prepare for the women’s 500. “Looking at the times from competitions held here, the differences between skaters were big,” she said. “I thought a lot about what the ice would be like and how I should skate.”
She added, “First I’ll go back into the athletes village, calm down, and watch today’s video to set a strategy” for the 500.
Lee said watching her rivals also motivated her. “I learned a lot watching Jutta Leerdam and Femke Kok,” she said. “It made me think I need to work harder, and my goal of standing on the podium became clearer.”
In the race, Kok first took the lead with an Olympic record of 1:12.59, before Leerdam lowered it to 1:12.31 to win gold.
Lee will compete in the women’s 500 on Feb. 16, aiming to contend for a medal.
After the race on Monday (Korea time), Lee said, “It wasn’t a perfect race, but I think I set a meaningful time,” adding, “If I prepare well, I think I can try for a medal in the 500.”
Lee finished ninth in 1 minute, 15.76 seconds. The result surpassed the previous best South Korean finish in the women’s 1,000, 11th by Yoo Sun Hee at the 1992 Albertville Games.
“I thought I could maybe get as high as seventh if things went well,” Lee said. “I didn’t reach my target place, but it’s still a meaningful result, so I’m satisfied.”
Lee said she will use what she learned in the 1,000 to prepare for the women’s 500. “Looking at the times from competitions held here, the differences between skaters were big,” she said. “I thought a lot about what the ice would be like and how I should skate.”
She added, “First I’ll go back into the athletes village, calm down, and watch today’s video to set a strategy” for the 500.
Lee said watching her rivals also motivated her. “I learned a lot watching Jutta Leerdam and Femke Kok,” she said. “It made me think I need to work harder, and my goal of standing on the podium became clearer.”
In the race, Kok first took the lead with an Olympic record of 1:12.59, before Leerdam lowered it to 1:12.31 to win gold.
Lee will compete in the women’s 500 on Feb. 16, aiming to contend for a medal.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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