South Korea’s women’s national short-track team returned home from the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics on Feb. 24 and said it will quickly shift back into training for the upcoming world championships.
According to the sport’s officials, the women’s team arrived at Incheon International Airport’s Terminal 2 on Tuesday afternoon with the main national delegation, including Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Yu Seung-min. The team reclaimed the women’s 3,000-meter relay gold for the first time in eight years, winning with a late comeback.
Kim Gil-li of Seongnam City Hall, who added the 1,500-meter gold to her relay title to become a double champion, told the crowd at the airport, “It feels like I’m experiencing what it’s like to be a celebrity.” Nicknamed “LamborGil-li,” she was also selected as the Korean delegation’s most valuable player at the Games.
Living up to the nickname, Kim received ceremonial service from Lamborghini Korea and left the airport in a sports car. “To finish perfectly through the world championships, I plan to start training again from Sunday,” she said.
Choi Min-jeong of Seongnam City Hall, who set a new record for the most Olympic medals by a South Korean across the Winter and Summer Games with seven, said she had doubted she could reach the mark before leaving for Milan. “Thanks to the support from so many people, I was able to do it,” she said. Choi added that she is satisfied with her results after three Olympics and will “cheer a lot” for Kim going forward.
Shim Suk-hee of Seoul City Hall, who helped the relay team win gold after what the article described as a difficult period, said the result was possible because the athletes endured. “Thanks to those who always believed in me and supported me more than I did, I’ve been able to come this far,” she said, adding she will continue to show strong performances.
The men’s national short-track team, which also returned home Tuesday, said it will begin preparations for the world championships as well. Hwang Dae-heon of Gangwon Province, who won two silver medals including in the 5,000-meter relay, said he was honored to win an individual-event medal at a third straight Olympics. “With the world championships still ahead, we’ll take time to regroup so our national team can show a good performance,” he said.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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