“I thought it would be nice to express the turtle ship running on an ice track.”
At the end of February, I met Jeong Seung-gi (24, Gangwon Provincial Office), the “skeleton ace” who returned home after the best season, at the Sliding Center in Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do. Skeleton has become one of the most famous sledding events thanks to Yoon Sung-bin’s golden run at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. And ‘Born in 1999’ Jeong Seung-gi, who participated in the Beijing Olympics last year, took over the baton. In the 2022-2023 season, the International Bobsleigh Skeleton Federation (IBSF) won 4 medals (3 silver, 1 bronze) in 8 World Cup series, and won a thrilling bronze medal by 0.01 second at the World Championships on January 26-27. Finishing the season at 4th place in the world rankings and standing tall as a ‘world class’, his helmet had the Turtle Ship of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, ‘Desperately Instant Life’, clearly engraved on it.
I asked why he chose ‘Turtle Ship’. “After (Yoon) Sungbin hyung’s Iron Man helmet, people around me recommended ‘Spider-Man,’ but I’m not a Marvel fanatic. I wanted to express myself, to do something Korean.” “I like Korean history, but Admiral Yi Sun-shin is the most respected person in Korean history. told the back story. 토토사이트
Jeong Seung-gi is the ‘Sochi Olympics kid’. In February 2014, I was fascinated by the skeleton while watching the Sochi Olympics on TV. “I thought ‘this is it’ after hearing the commentator’s words that you can challenge regardless of your age or sports experience,” he said. An ordinary middle school student who liked sports at Duil Middle School in Paju, with one dream of the ‘Olympic’, participated in the national team selection event held in Pyeongchang in March of that year. Immediately after being selected as the youngest, he transferred to Doam Middle School in Pyeongchang and went on to Sangji Daegwanryeong High School. The courageous boy who ran to Gangwon-do recklessly for 10 years because of his love of skeleton among friends who switched from other sports such as track and field and weightlifting is bearing fruit. “Seeing and doing were definitely different. It was more scary than I thought. At first, I think my whole body was bruised,” he said, looking back at his first memory. The ambitious ‘sledding boy’ debuted on the international stage at the 2016 Lillehammer Winter Youth Olympic Games, the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics opening ceremony, as one of eight jockeys holding the five rings flag, and at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, where she first competed, she placed 10 overall. He climbed to the top and proved his potential. Jeong Seung-gi, who said, “I gained the confidence that ‘I can do it’ through the Beijing Olympics,” flew brilliantly in the 2022-2023 season that followed.
Above all, the first bronze medal at the world championships with a ‘0.01 second difference’ won with an ‘unbreakable mind’ is precious. They also broke the jinx of the ‘St. Moritz Track’, which had always been a struggle. He said, “I missed the gold medal at the 1st Whistler event by 0.01 second, and won the bronze medal at the World Championships by 0.01 second. 0.01 second is really short, but it is so precious.” “For that 0.01 second, I run and run for years. I pay attention to even the sticker on the sled to make it less air resistant,” he laughed.
Jeong Seung-gi, who returned to Korea on the 20th of last month, went straight to Pyeongchang after taking a vacation with her family for only two days. He said, “Thanks to the Pyeongchang Olympics, I am very grateful to have a sliding center and ice start facilities. I have to ride harder when I can ride before the ice melts.” He participated in the ‘Youth Sports Festival’ of the Korean Sports Association with the dreamers, had conversations, and showed a demonstration of the start. “It’s a ‘blessing’ because I’m doing what I’m good at. It’s a privilege to compete with players in the name of Korea on the world stage and feel the pressure,” he laughed. He said, “I don’t have a superior physical or sensuous player like Sungbin hyung, but I study and study the track tenaciously. Analysis is my strength.” He said, “My goal is to stand on the podium (podium) without ups and downs in the new season, and to be in the top 3 in the world rankings.”
Skeletons with an average speed of 140-150 km per hour, what would a roller coaster feel like?