Lim Hyo-jun

Lim Hyo-jun (Korean: 임효준, born 29 May 1996) is a South Korean short track speed skater. He is the current champion of the Men's 1500 m event in short track speed skating at the Winter Olympics, and also currently holds the Olympic record for the event. Originally starting as a swimmer, Lim took up skating at a young age. Despite multiple injuries early on in his career, he notably won gold at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics upon his international debut in the Boys' 1000 m event. He would later win the 1000 m and 1500 m events in the Budapest leg of the 2017–18 ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup and earn selection for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Upon his Olympic debut, Lim won the gold medal, setting a new Olympic record of 2:10.485 in the process, beating Lee Jung-su's previous record set at the 2010 games.

This is a Korean name; the family name is Lim.

Lim Hyo-jun

Personal information
Nationality	South Korean
Born	(1996-05-29) 29 May 1996 Daegu, South Korea
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	64 kg (141 lb)
Sport
Country	South Korea
Sport	Short track speed skating
Event(s)	1000 m, 1500 m
Club	Korea National Sport University
Medal record Men's short track speed skating Representing  South Korea Olympic Games 2018 Pyeongchang 1500 m 2018 Pyeongchang 500 m World Championships 2018 Montreal 5000 m relay 2019 Sofia Overall 2019 Sofia 1000 m 2019 Sofia 1500 m 2019 Sofia 3000 m 2019 Sofia 5000 m relay 2018 Montreal 1000 m 2018 Montreal 1500 m Youth Olympic Games 2012 Innsbruck 1000 m 2012 Innsbruck 500 m

Lim Hyo-jun
Hangul	임효준
Revised Romanization	Im Hyojun
McCune–Reischauer	Im Hyojun

Career

Early years, Winter Youth Olympics

Lim Hyo-jun started competing as a swimmer, but later switched to short track speed skating after suffering damage to his tympanum.[1] During his early career during middle school, he underwent seven surgeries after multiple injuries sustained during competitions caused numerous hiatuses, including a period in which Lim did not compete for a year, following a leg injury.[1] During his early career, Lim represented South Korea in his first international competition at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck. There, he won the gold medal on his debut in the Boys' 1000 m event,[2] and the silver medal behind fellow South Korean Yoon Su-min in the Boys' 500 m event.[3] In the unique Mixed team relay event, where athletes of different countries and sexes competed together, Lim's "Team H" reached the gold medal final, but ultimately did not place after they were penalised for dropping the baton during the race.[4]

Universiade, World Cup, Winter Olympics

After a four-year absence from international competition, Lim returned during the 2017 Winter Universiade in Almaty, once again representing South Korea. He competed in the Men's 500 m event, where he reached the final following respective first and second-place finishes in the heats and quarterfinals,[5][6] and the disqualification of Kazakhstan's Nurbergen Zhumagaziyev for obstructing Lim in the semifinal.[7] In the final, however, Lim failed to make a podium finish, placing fourth behind South Korea's Kim Do-kyoum and Kazakhstan's Abzal Azhgaliyev and Denis Nikisha.[8] In the Men's 5000 m relay event, the South Korean team, which initially didn't include Lim due to his occupation with the 500 m event the same day of the semifinal, were successful in qualifying for the final.[9] Lim was chosen to replace Lee Mun-hyeon for the final race the next day, though they were ultimately unsuccessful, conceding a penalty in a performance that would've otherwise saw them place third.[10]

Prior to his debut at the 2018 Winter Olympics, Lim won the 1000 m and 1500 m events at the September 2017 Budapest leg of the 2017–18 ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup, where he placed ahead of fellow South Korean skater Hwang Dae-heon both times.[11][12] In the same leg, Lim also placed second in the 500m event ahead of Hwang and behind Hungary's Sándor Liu Shaolin.[13] Lim continued on to the Seoul leg of the World Cup in November, where he was relatively less successful, reaching only the placement final in the 500 m event,[14] and being disqualified in the 1000 m event following a collision with Russia's Alexander Shulginov in the quarterfinal.[15] Lim reached the gold medal final of the 1500 m event, but was also similarly disqualified.[16] He solely found success during the Seoul leg through the South Korean 5000 m relay team, alongside Seo Yi-ra, Kwak Yoon-gy, and Kim Do-kyoum, placing second in their heat and semifinal, before winning the final race.[17][18][19]

At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Lim Hyo-jun competed in the Men's 1500 m event, and is due to compete as part of the Korean team for the Men's 5000 m relay. In the heats of the individual 1500 m event, Lim placed first in a race that saw Japan's Kazuki Yoshinaga disqualified after a stumble; Hungary's Shaoang Liu, who placed fourth, qualified with Lim to the semifinals.[20] In the semifinals, Lim again placed first along with fellow Korean Hwang Dae-heon, who placed second behind him.[21] In the gold medal final, Canada's Charles Hamelin collided with Hwang with three laps left in the race, leaving Lim the last Korean in the field.[22][23] He nevertheless finished the race seven hundredths of a second ahead of the Netherlands' Sjinkie Knegt, the World record holder, to claim the gold medal in the event;[24][25][26] the third time in the event's history that a South Korean had placed first. Lim also claimed the Olympic record for the event, recording a time of 2:10.485 in the final, beating Lee Jung-su's record of 2:10.949 set at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.[27]

Statistics

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Event	Position	Time
2012	Winter Youth Olympic Games	Innsbruck, Austria	Boys' 1000m – Quarterfinal 3	1st	1:32.445
			Boys' 1000m – Semifinal AB 1	1st	1:29.442
			Boys' 1000m – Final A	1st	1:29.284[2]
			Boys' 500m – Quarterfinal 2	1st	44.291
			Boys' 500m – Semifinal AB 1	2nd	42.911
			Boys' 500m – Final A	2nd	42.482[3]
			Mixed team relay – Semifinal 1	2nd	4:26.027
			Mixed team relay – Final A	DQF	—[4]
2018	Winter Olympic Games	Pyeongchang, South Korea	Men's 1500m – Heat 4	1st	2:13.891[20]
			Men's 1500m – Semifinal 3	1st	2:11.389[21]
			Men's 1500m – Final A	1st	2:10.485 (OR)[27]

See also

• List of Olympic medalists in short track speed skating
• List of Youth Olympic Games gold medalists who won Olympic gold medals

References

1. Boram, Kim; Yoon-seung, Kang (10 February 2018). "(LEAD) (Olympics) Lim Hyo-jun wins S. Korea's first gold in men's 1,500 m short track". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
2. "WINTER YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES – Innsbruck, Austria – Final 1000 meter MEN". ShorttrackOnLine. PB-Event. 18 January 2012. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
3. "WINTER YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES – Innsbruck, Austria – Final 500 meter MEN". ShorttrackOnLine. PB-Event. 19 January 2012. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
4. "WINTER YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES – Innsbruck, Austria – Final 3000 m Relay Mixed NOC Team". ShorttrackOnLine. PB-Event. 21 January 2012. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
5. "Short Track Speed Skating: Men's 500 m Heat 1". Almaty 2017 Competition Information System. International University Sports Federation. 6 February 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
6. "Short Track Speed Skating: Men's 500 m Quarterfinal 4". Almaty 2017 Competition Information System. International University Sports Federation. 6 February 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
7. "Short Track Speed Skating: Men's 500 m Semifinal 1". Almaty 2017 Competition Information System. International University Sports Federation. 6 February 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
8. "Short Track Speed Skating: Men's 500 m Finals Final A". Almaty 2017 Competition Information System. International University Sports Federation. 6 February 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
9. "Short Track Speed Skating: Men's 5000 m Relay Semifinal 1". Almaty 2017 Competition Information System. International University Sports Federation. 6 February 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
10. "Short Track Speed Skating: Men's 5000 m Relay Final A". Almaty 2017 Competition Information System. International University Sports Federation. 7 February 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
11. "Audi ISU World Cup 2017/18 – Budapest (HUN) – 1000 m Finals". Short Track Results. International Skating Union. 1 October 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
12. "Audi ISU World Cup 2017/18 – Budapest (HUN) – 1500 m Finals". Short Track Results. International Skating Union. 1 October 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
13. "Audi ISU World Cup 2017/18 – Budapest (HUN) – 500 m Finals". Short Track Results. International Skating Union. 30 September 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
14. "Audi ISU World Cup 2017/18 – Seoul (KOR) – 500m Finals". Short Track Results. International Skating Union. 18 November 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
15. "Audi ISU World Cup 2017/18 – Seoul (KOR) – 1000 m Quarterfinals". Short Track Results. International Skating Union. 19 November 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
16. "Audi ISU World Cup 2017/18 – Seoul (KOR) – 1500 m Finals". Short Track Results. International Skating Union. 19 November 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
17. "Audi ISU World Cup 2017/18 – Seoul (KOR) – 5000 m Relay Heats". Short Track Results. International Skating Union. 17 November 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
18. "Audi ISU World Cup 2017/18 – Seoul (KOR) – 5000 m Relay Semifinals". Short Track Results. International Skating Union. 18 November 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
19. "Audi ISU World Cup 2017/18 – Seoul (KOR) – 5000 m Relay Finals". Short Track Results. International Skating Union. 19 November 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
20. "Short Track Speed Skating Results – Men's 1,500 m Heat 4". PyeongChang 2018. International Olympic Committee. 10 February 2018. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
21. "Short Track Speed Skating Results – Men's 1,500 m Semifinal 3". PyeongChang 2018. International Olympic Committee. 10 February 2018. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
22. Kerry, Paul (10 February 2018). "[PyeongChang 2018] Lim Hyo-jun secures S. Korea's first gold in PyeongChang Olympics". The Korea Herald. Herald Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
23. Busbee, Jay (10 February 2018). "South Korea wins first gold in speed skating, but not the way it expected". Yahoo! Finance. Oath Inc. (Verizon Communications). Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
24. BBC Sport staff (10 February 2018). "Winter Olympics: Lim Hyo-jun wins 1500 m gold for hosts South Korea". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
25. NBC Olympics staff (10 February 2018). "Lim Hyo-Jun wins South Korea's first gold medal of the 2018 Games". NBC Olympics (NBC Sports). NBC Sports Group. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
26. Associated Press (10 February 2018). "Lim Hyo-jun captures South Korea's first gold medal". The Japan Times. Nifco. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
27. "Short Track Speed Skating Results – Men's 1,500 m Final A". PyeongChang 2018. International Olympic Committee. 10 February 2018. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.

External links

• Lim Hyo-jun at the International Skating Union
• Pyeongchang 2018 profile (Archived 10 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine (archived 10 February 2018))
• ShorttrackOnLine profile