Lee Seung Hoon, the face of South Korea’s long-distance speed skating, is making his final attempt to become the most decorated South Korean athlete in the history of the Asian Winter Games.
On Tuesday, Lee will compete in the men’s team pursuit at the 2025 Harbin Asian Winter Games, held at the Speed Skating Oval in Heilongjiang Skating Training Center, China. He aims to win his ninth Asian Games medal.
Lee has already won eight Asian Games medals throughout his career, including three golds and one silver at the 2011 Astana-Almaty Games and four golds at the 2017 Sapporo Games.
This record ties him with Kim Dong Sung, a former short track speed skater who also won eight medals (three gold, three silver, and two bronze). Thus, they are the joint record holders for the most individual medals a South Korean athlete won at the Asian Winter Games.
If Lee wins a medal in the team pursuit, he will become the sole record holder for the most medals a South Korean athlete won in Asian Winter Games history.
A specialist in long-distance events such as the 10,000m and mass start, Lee faces an additional challenge in Harbin. The host nation, China, has removed these events from the competition and introduced a new 100m sprint event instead.
With fewer opportunities to compete, Lee narrowly missed out on his first chance at a medal, finishing fourth in the 5,000m the previous day.
Born in 1988 and now 37 years old, Lee is unlikely to compete at the next Asian Winter Games, set to be held in Neom, Saudi Arabia, in four years. For him, today’s team pursuit event will be his final major international competition and his last race at the Asian Games.
Determined to make history, Lee stated, “In the past, I used to feel pressure, but now I feel at ease. I want to enjoy the race and secure at least one medal, regardless of its color.”