South Korean speed skater Cha Min-kyu trains at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on Sunday, in preparation for the Beijing Winter Olympics. (Yonhap)
BEIJING -- South Korean speed skater Cha Min-kyu came out of nowhere to win the silver medal in the men's 500m at PyeongChang 2018, a feat so shocking that it's easy to forget he finished runner-up by only 0.01 second.
On Saturday in Beijing, Cha will try to sneak up on people once again, his underdog label very much intact despite his status as an Olympic silver medalist.
Now 28, Cha has not been able to build on his PyeongChang success. He ranked 11th overall in the 500m in the most recent International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup season. But Cha said after a national competition in January that he felt he was improving, and he should be able to peak in time for Beijing.
This will be the second speed skating event for South Korea. In the first, Kim Min-seok captured bronze in the men's 1,500m for South Korea's very first medal anywhere at Beijing 2022.
Also on Saturday, the women's curling team will continue its round-robin play against the Russian Olympic Committee. (Yonhap)
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