SEOUL, Lugers for the host South Korea at the upcoming Winter Youth Olympics will enter the two-week competition with their confidence running high and ready to surprise some people, national team coaches said Tuesday.
In an online press conference, Wolfgang Staudinger, head coach of the national luge squad, said he was “quite happy” with the first official training run earlier in the day at the Alpensia Sliding Centre in Pyeongchang, some 130 kilometers east of Seoul.
“In our training, we were in the top three in one run and in the top 10 in the two others,” said Staudinger, who previously worked the with national teams of Canada, the United States and his native Germany. “I think, mentally, we’re in a good spot. If they can continue to maintain and continue to perform on that level, we will see. We had good training and we can go with full confidence into these Youth Olympic Games.”
Staudinger said the track in Pyeongchang will be “technically very, very challenging,” which he thinks will lead to some e
xciting and unpredictable races — as was the case at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics held at the same venue.
“Top to bottom, you will see a lot of exciting sliding with a lot of action,” he said. “Anything is possible here. There is no guaranteed outcome for the favorites to win and there is no guaranteed outcome for us not to do well. So this can be full of surprises like in 2018. Possibly, we will shine at the right time.”
Staudinger’s assistant coach, Lim Nam-kyu, said he’s been trying to help his teenage athletes get into the right mindset, knowing that they’ve done some excellent physical work.
“As important as the results are, I think the Youth Olympics will be an important stepping stone for our young athletes,” said Lim, a two-time Olympian. “Mentally, I want to help them execute and perform everything that they’ve been working on. They just have to shake off some nerves and they’ll be great. Their confidence is pretty high right now.”
Lim said he has been inspired by the development of his
young pupils.
“Coaching them has been such a rewarding and gratifying experience,” Lim said. “Seeing them push themselves to the limits and do it with a sense of pride has also fueled my drive as their coach.”
The fourth Winter Youth Olympics opens Friday for a two-week run. Luge races go from Saturday to next Tuesday.
South Korea will have five lugers in action: Kim So-yoon and Park Ji-ye in the women’s singles, Kim Bo-keun in the men’s singles, and Kim Ha-yoon and Bae Jae-seong in the men’s doubles.
Kim So-yoon and Park finished second and fourth at the Asian Luge Championships held in Pyeongchang in December. Kim Bo-keun was the runner-up in the men’s singles, as were Kim Ha-yoon and Bae in the men’s doubles.
Source: Yonhap News Agency