South Korean cross-country skiers Lee Ui Jin (Busan Metropolitan City Hall Sports Council) and Han Da Som (Gyeonggi Provincial Government) failed to finish their events at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics.
Competing in the women’s 10km + 10km skiathlon at the Tesero Cross-Country Ski Stadium in Tesero, Italy, on Feb. 7 (Korea time), Lee covered 13.3 kilometers in 43:37.8 and Han 11.8 kilometers in 41:19.4 before both were pulled after being lapped.
Under skiathlon rules, athletes who are caught by the leaders by a full lap are removed from the race.
Both South Koreans reached the midpoint but were lapped afterward, falling short of their goal of finishing in the top 50. Lee passed the halfway mark in 22nd out of 70 but was overtaken as rivals surged in the freestyle portion. Lee and Han were listed 54th and 64th.
Nordic powers dominated the medals. Sweden’s Frida Karlsson won gold in 53:45.2, followed by teammate Ebba Andersson in 54:36.2. Norway’s Heidi Weng took bronze in 55:11.9.
The 10km + 10km skiathlon combines two techniques: classic skiing in set tracks and freestyle skating. Athletes switch from classic to freestyle at the midpoint.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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