2018 Korean medalists face off again, now skating for Korea and China

Short track speed skaters Hwang Dae-heon of Korea and Lin Xiaojun of China find themselves on the ice again, with their rivalry resurfacing ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

Short track speed skater Hwang Dae-heon. left, celebrates with Lim Hyo-jun after finishing the men's 500-meter race at Gangneung Ice Arena at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics in Gangneung, Gangwon, on Feb. 22, 2018. [NEWS1]

MILAN — Seven years after a training center incident reshaped two careers, short track speed skaters Hwang Dae-heon of Korea and Lin Xiaojun of China find themselves on the ice again, with their rivalry resurfacing ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

On Tuesday at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Hwang skated around the rink as part of his warm-up. After wiping his blades, he left the ice. About two hours later, Lin, wearing a red uniform, appeared alongside the Chinese team.

Korean-born Lin, whose original name is Lim Hyo-jun and who competed as part of the Korean team at the 2018 Winter Olympics, became a naturalized Chinese citizen in 2022.

As they had the previous day, the two skaters carefully avoided each other. The presence of the pair carried the weight of an incident that began in 2019.

The origin of their shared history traces back to June 17, 2019, at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong. During a break before official training, about 10 male and female athletes joked around in the weight room.

Short track speed skater Hwang Dae-heon trains at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy on Feb. 2. [YONHAP]

What began as casual horseplay soon escalated. Hwang hit a female teammate on the rear with his fist, and she responded with exaggerated laughter.

Later, while Hwang climbed onto a rock-climbing wall, Lin pulled down Hwang’s shorts from behind. For a brief moment, part of Hwang’s body was exposed, and Lin ran off laughing.

The moment, initially brushed off as a joke, soon escalated. Hwang reported the incident, saying he felt humiliated, and it was framed as sexual misconduct.

Before the court reached a final ruling, public opinion moved quickly. During the investigation and trial process, Lim’s name became associated with allegations of sexual misconduct.

News of the incident spread quickly through the short track speed skating community, where the athlete pool is small and competitors often know one another.

“Short track speed skating has a structure that makes it difficult for a single dominant individual to emerge," Kim Jong-hyo, a professor at Seoul National University, said. The athlete pool is extremely small, so skaters who begin competing against each other in elementary school often continue to face one another all the way through national team selection. That environment can sometimes build strong team bonds, but for individual athletes, it can also be uncomfortable.”

Lim ultimately received a one-year suspension from the Korea Skating Union and lost his footing in Korea after a lower court conviction. The Supreme Court later acquitted him, but by then he had already changed his nationality to Chinese in order to continue his career and adopted the name Lin Xiaojun.

Lin gave up wearing the Korean Flag in pursuit of Olympic competition but missed the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics under a rule requiring athletes who change nationality to wait three years after their last international competition.

Hwang, meanwhile, won a gold medal in the men’s 1,500 meters at the 2022 Games.

Short track speed skater Hwang Dae-heon celebrates after winning a gold medal in the men's 1,500-meter race at the 2022 Beijing Olympics in Beijing on Feb. 9, 2022. [NEWS1]

On the day of that victory, Lin posted a message in Chinese on social media saying, “Wait for me to return. I will stand shoulder to shoulder with you and fight together.”

When reporters asked Hwang about Lim in 2023, he replied, “You mean Lin Xiaojun? I focus on my own races rather than paying attention to specific skaters.”

Hwang used Lin’s Chinese name instead of his Korean one.

Now, the two meet again on the ice in Milan. They have competed against each other at World Tour events, but this marks their first direct confrontation on the Olympic stage.

The two will be facing strong competitors from around the world, including four-time world champion William Dandjinou of Canada.

For Lin, this is his first time representing China at the Olympics.

Short track speed skater Lin Xiaojun of China, right, competes during the men's 500-meter finals at the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China on Feb. 8, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

“Rather than judging Lim’s decision through a nationalist lens, people should view it in the context of the circumstances that led to it,” Kim said.

Team Korea has been one of the favorites to capture gold in short track speed skating at the Olympics, with the country having secured two gold and three silver medals in the sport at the 2022 edition.

The action at the Winter Olympics will unfold from Friday and last through Feb. 22.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY PARK LIN, KIM HYO-KYOUNG [paik.jiwan@joongang.co.kr]