Kim Dong-Sung – Ahn Hyun-Soo, “What It Feels Like to Lose the Gold”

"Can You Call Falling Competence?"

Although Korea’s short-track coach Jun Myung-Kyu said after the game, "We will forget about it fast and get ready for next matches." men’s 1000m short track was too unsatisfactory for the Korean fans. Kim Dong-Sung (22, Korea Univ.) in the semifinals and Ahn Hyun-Soo (17, Shinmok High.) in the finals, collapsed in turns. Also, there was the misfortune of tripping other athletes. Why did they fall, and why did the judges refuse to point out what really happened?

Semifinals (Kim Dong-Sung)-

Kim Dong-Sung was running 3rd with less than one round left. When he tried to make his way through the inner curve, the second runner, China’s Jiajun Li, hit Kim’s knee and made him fall. On the slow-motion video, it was completely Li’s fault. However, the Austrian judge, the Norwegian and U.S. assistant judges all agreed that `it was Kim’s own fault` after the game. It happened too fast for the referees to judge correctly. Once a decision is made in short-track, it never changes. Even if a lawsuit is filed later, only referees would receive disciplinary actions, but the decision itself had never changed in the history of Olympics short-track. Coach Jun said, "Judges should have looked more carefully. In the 1998 Nagano Games, there was a case where a rematch was held after 3 athletes fell in the women’s 500m, but the game is already over and I don’t intend to file a lawsuit."

Finals (Ahn Hyun-Soo)-

The visible gold medal suddenly disappeared. It was on the last curve with not even half a round was left to the finish line. There was a gap in the inner side while the 1st runner, U.S.A.’s Apolo Anton Ohno, and the 2nd runner, China’s Jiajun Li, were having a fierce body fight. It would have been Ahn’s victory if he confidently ran into that space. But he failed to cut into the inner corner, thinking that the two runners would come inward again. As the curve finished, Li collapsed and made Ahn, Ohno, and Mathieu Turcotte fall as well. Ohno and Turcotte got up right away and passed the finish line to claim silver and bronze, respectively. In the process of the fall, Ahn’s right hand was cut because of the skate-blade, and Ohno’s left thigh was also cut. Coach Jun said, "If it was (Kim) Dong-Sung, he would have grasped the inside to claim victory. But Ahn is only 17 years old now. He’s been doing excellently up to the finals, and I believe he will be Kim’s successor."

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com