Lim Hyo-jun, who won his first gold medal after being naturalized in China, “There were a lot of hardships during that time”
Short track short tracker Lin Xiaojun (27, Korean name Lim Hyo-jun), who won the first individual event in an international competition after being naturalized in China, expressed his emotions.
Xiaojun Lin said in an interview with ISU after winning the men’s 500m final at the 5th event of the 2022-2023 season International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track World Cup held in Dresden, Germany on the 6th (Korean time) with a result of 41 seconds 329. I am very happy to win a medal again after the first time in a while,” he said.
“There are many young and good players in China,” he said. “I will do my best until the end of this season. I am very happy.”
Xiaojun Lin, who won the gold medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics as a signboard for the Korean short track speed skating team, was embroiled in a sexual harassment case in 2019 and suffered hardships.
During physical training at the Jincheon National Athletes Village weight training center, he was accused of pulling his pants while playing with a junior of the national team, A, and exposing body parts.
Although Lin Xiaojun was acquitted after a court battle, the one-year suspension from the Korea Skating Federation did not go away.
He left Korea and became a naturalized citizen in China.
Lin Xiaojun has not been seen on the international stage for a long time.
It was because of the Olympic Charter of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that “in order for an athlete to change nationality and participate in the Olympics, three years must pass after the international competition in which he participated in the previous nationality.”
The Chinese short track team was made up of athletes who will compete in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and Lim Hyo-jun had to concentrate on the Chinese business team Hebei Province and the second group of the Chinese national team.
Lin Xiaojun was able to return to the international stage wearing the Chinese national team uniform only this season.
Even after returning, Lin Xiaojun suffered ups and downs.
In October of last year, he suffered from back pain after falling at the 1st World Cup, and failed to win the individual event until the 4th World Cup. 토토사이트
However, today’s match was different.
Xiaojun Lin waited for an opportunity at the back end of the men’s 500m final race, took advantage of a fierce struggle between Kim Tae-seong (Dankook University) and Stephen Dubois (Canada) to rise to first place, and was the first to cross the finish line without losing the lead.
Lin Xiaojun clenched his fists and performed an intense ceremony, hugging the coaches of the Chinese national team and not raising his head for a long time.
Xiaojun Lin also led the Chinese national team to victory in the men’s 5,000m relay final, which was followed by two gold medals in this event.
Lin Xiaojun, who won his first individual gold medal after naturalization, will participate in the 6th World Cup, which opens in Dordrecht, the Netherlands on the 10th.
Xiaojun Lun is scheduled to participate in the ISU World Championships, which will open in Seoul on the 10th of next month, so attention is focused on the competitive structure with the Korean national team players.