Youth Olympics set the stage for breakthrough senior debuts

For some youth athletes, the upcoming Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics may be their first shot to leave their mark on an international stage before making their senior debut

From left: snowboarders Lee Chae-un and Choi Ga-on, figure skater Shin Ji-a and bobsledder So Jae-hwan [JOONGANG ILBO]

Those who have followed previous Youth Olympics may find familiar names among athletes in major international tournaments today.

Since the first Winter Youth Olympics in 2012, many young athletes who once competed at the junior tournament have gone on to dominate their respective sports.

For some youth athletes, the upcoming Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics may be their first shot to leave their mark on an international stage before making their senior debut. And as athletes inevitably age out of youth divisions, many will have just this one chance to become a junior Olympian.

With the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics around the corner, take a look at athletes that have shone at past Youth Olympics, establishing themselves as favorites before breakthrough senior debuts.

Korea’s Kim Min-seok (Speed skater)

Kim Min-seok skates during a men's 1000-meter race at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, China on Feb. 18, 2022. [JOONGANG ILBO]

For speed skater Kim Min-seok, the 2016 Lillehammer Winter Youth Olympics foreshadowed a medal-rich senior career.

Kim’s form was remarkable at the 2016 Youth Olympics, winning two gold medals — one in the 1500-meter discipline and other in the mass start — and leaving a clear mark on the international stage.

That stellar performance was not a fluke; the medals he won at senior international events prove it.

A year after the 2016 Youth Olympics, Kim competed at the 2017 Sapporo Asian Winter Games and earned three medals — two gold in the 1500-meter individual and team pursuit and one bronze in the mass start.

As if the Asian Winter Games medals were not enough for him, he competed at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and won two medals — one silver in the team pursuit and one bronze in 1500-meter — at his very first Olympics.

He has continued to prove himself as a big speed skating figure since then, adding one more Olympic bronze medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Korea’s Shim Suk-hee (Short track speed skater)

Shim Suk-hee skates during a women's 3000-meter relay short track race at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics held at Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung, Gangwon on Feb. 10, 2018. [YONHAP]

Short track speed skater Shim Suk-hee is another Korean star who left a strong impression at the Winter Youth Olympics.

One of the athletes who competed at the inaugural 2012 Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, Shim won two gold medals in the 500-meter and 1000-meter, in addition to a bronze medal in the 3000-meter mixed-gender relay.

That outstanding form won her an invitation to the Korean senior national team at the age of 15.

She hit the ground running, winning three medals — one gold, one silver and one bronze — at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.

Shim then went on to win four gold medals at the 2014 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships along with slate of medals from other international events.

With an impressive performance, she also competed at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics where she won a gold in the 3000-meter relay, becoming a two-time Olympic champion.

Germany’s Jessica Degenhardt (Luger)

Jessica Degenhardt, front, and Cheyenne Rosenthal celebrate winning the women's doubles race at the Luge World Championships in Oberhof, Germany on Jan. 28, 2023. [AP/YONHAP]

Having previously won two bronze medals at the Junior World Championships before the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics, luger Jessica Degenhardt was already one to beat at the Youth Games where she won one gold and one silver.

Luge is a timing-based race in which an athlete lies face up on a sled and slides through a course.

After proving her potential on the junior stage, Degenhardt went on to compete on the senior international stage where she has continued to see success.

She won a gold medal at the 2022 World Championships in the doubles and secured a bronze medal in the doubles at the 2023 European Championships.

Two more gold — one in the doubles and other in the doubles’ sprint — at the 2023 World Championships raised her international medal count.

Russia’s Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (Figure skater)

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia in action during her short programs at the Channel One Figure Skating Cup 2023 in Moscow, Russia on Jan. 21, 2023. [EPA/YONHAP]

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva showed her potential as a star figure skater even before her Youth Games shot, having won a silver medal in the women’s singles at the 2011 World Junior Figure Skating Championships and another silver at the 2010-11 Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.

As she had proved to be strong competitor at other junior events, she did it again at the 2012 Youth Games by winning a gold medal.

Tuktamysheva’s senior career has also been a full of success. At the European Figure Skating Championships, she won one gold in 2013 and one bronze in 2015 and went on to win a gold at the 2015 World Championships.

Even at the World Team Trophy in Figure Skating — a figure skating team competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union — she claimed one gold in 2021, one silver in 2015 and one bronze in 2019.

Tuktamysheva’s fellow youth figure skaters from Russia, however, cannot recreate what she did in 2012, as Russia is not competing at this year’s Youth Games due to reasons related to doping.

Another chance for acclaim The cases of Youth Olympic medalists indicate that those who shine at the Youth Games have potential to be future stars in their respective sports. This year’s medalists may follow in the footstep of their senior athletes as well.

Those who compete at the Gangwon Youth Games also have a chance to medal at the venues where their senior athletes saw victory, as the tournament is using most of the venues utilized during the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.

This year’s Youth Olympics will see those who already proved their potential on the junior international stage like Degenhardt or Tuktamysheva.

Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics [SCREEN CAPTURE]

From Korea, two-time World Junior Championships silver medalist Shin Ji-a is set to compete to become the first Korean figure skater to secure a Youth Olympic medal since You Young in 2020.

You, who won a gold medal in 2020, remains the only Korean skater to have ever earned a medal in the sport.

Snowboarder Choi Ga-on, who recently won a gold medal at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation World Cup last month will also head to Gangwon alongside another teammate Lee Chae-un, who took a silver at the tournament.

Bobsleigh prospect So Jae-hwan will also be in action at the Youth Olympics.

A total of 1,950 athletes from 79 countries are expected to compete in the Games, with 81 medals on the line across 15 different events from Jan. 19 through Feb. 1.

The opening ceremony will take place at Gangneung Oval in Gangneung and will be livestreamed at Pyeongchang Dome with a big screen inside.

The closing ceremony will then be held at Gangneung Olympic Park in Gangneung. Promoted by the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics Organizing Committee.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]