Slide to survive: Korea's skeleton, bobsleigh teams face daunting Turn 4 on route to podium
Published: 12 Feb. 2026, 15:33
Updated: 12 Feb. 2026, 19:52
![Jung Seung-gi in action during training for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics at the Cortina Sliding Centre on Feb. 10. [REUTERS/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/12/523cca6d-2f8c-45aa-9f10-2f13bb90777b.jpg)
Jung Seung-gi in action during training for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics at the Cortina Sliding Centre on Feb. 10. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
Korea’s sliding athletes have been given a clear but daunting assignment as it tries to return to the Olympic podium for the first time in eight years: survive Turn 4.
Korea won its first-ever Olympic medals in sliding sports at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. Men’s skeleton racer Yun Sung-bin captured gold, and the four-man bobsleigh team led by Won Yun-jong — along with Seo Young-woo, Kim Dong-hyun and Jun Jung-lin — took silver. After missing out on medals at Beijing 2022, Korea will try again at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
The battleground will be the Cortina Sliding Centre. Korea will chase medals in men’s skeleton with Jung Seung-gi, and in the men’s two-man and four-man bobsleigh events with a sled piloted by Kim Jin-su.
The Cortina track is generally considered moderately difficult, but it is unforgiving: a single mistake can be decisive. The 1,750-meter (5,741-foot) course features 16 turns.
Athletes and experts say the race will be decided early, and that getting into medal contention will require pushing from the opening stretch. The section most often singled out as the make-or-break danger zone is Turn 4.
Each turn on the Cortina track has a name, and Turn 4 is known as "Labirinti," Italian for “maze” — a nod to how tricky it is and how hard it can be to pass through cleanly.
Kim, the pilot of the men’s bobsleigh team, said the track is designed to build speed only if the first four turns are linked smoothly.
![Jung Seung-gi in action during training for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics at the Cortina Sliding Centre on Feb. 10. [REUTERS/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/12/e7e26047-e9a8-4198-9edf-3ab2deddc438.jpg)
Jung Seung-gi in action during training for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics at the Cortina Sliding Centre on Feb. 10. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
![The Korean four-man bobsleigh competes at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics at the Yanqing National Sliding Center in Beijing on Feb. 19, 2022. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/12/99f4af82-61bf-49f1-b948-9145e68dabff.jpg)
The Korean four-man bobsleigh competes at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics at the Yanqing National Sliding Center in Beijing on Feb. 19, 2022. [YONHAP]
“The track is built so you gain acceleration only when you connect Turns 1 through 4 well,” Kim said. “If you put too much force into Turn 3, you can drift off your line in Turn 4, hit the ceiling, and the sled could even flip.”
Kim added that Korea’s strength is its start, and that his team has targeted the highly difficult Turn 4 as its key battleground.
“If we use centrifugal force well and get through the curve without losing too much speed, we can expect a good time,” he said.
Jung also pointed to Turn 4 as the critical technical challenge, noting that the turn is shorter than comparable ones on other tracks — meaning the sled must be steered while carefully controlling force so it does not get pushed up toward the roof.
Sliding sports often reward familiarity, giving an edge to athletes who have logged many runs on the competition track — typically the host nation and seasoned veterans.
![An aerial view shows the Olympic sliding center venue hosting the luge and bobsleigh competitions in Cortina, northern Italy, ahead of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Games on Jan. 24. [AFP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/12/10e7a504-6a2f-4b13-81a9-5d5237d7a5fa.jpg)
An aerial view shows the Olympic sliding center venue hosting the luge and bobsleigh competitions in Cortina, northern Italy, ahead of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Games on Jan. 24. [AFP/YONHAP]
![National bobsleigh team members Kim Jin-su, right, and Kim Hyeong-geun practice their start technique, a crucial factor in their race time. The duo, aiming for their first Olympic medal, recently trained with Jamaica’s national bobsleigh team. [KIM KYOUNG-ROK]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/12/1c5b738a-9676-4e26-9523-1df2399775ff.jpg)
National bobsleigh team members Kim Jin-su, right, and Kim Hyeong-geun practice their start technique, a crucial factor in their race time. The duo, aiming for their first Olympic medal, recently trained with Jamaica’s national bobsleigh team. [KIM KYOUNG-ROK]
This time, however, the field may be more level. With the venue only recently opened after renovations, even powerhouse Germany and host Italy are not expected to enjoy much of a home-track advantage.
That has sharpened the focus on the opening segment: the start and the run through Turns 1 to 4.
Kim’s team has posted start times in the world’s top five during the 2025-26 season. At a World Cup event held on the Cortina Olympic track in November, Korea won bronze in the four-man race and finished fourth in the two-man event.
Jung, meanwhile, frequently ranked first in start times through the 2023-24 season, but his numbers fell after he was injured. He has been around the world top 10 this season and has been preparing to raise that to the sixth-to-eighth range in time for the Olympics.
PyeongChang Olympic silver medalist Won said Turn 4 is difficult, but suggested it may still suit Korea.
![A map of the Cortina Sliding Centre [INTERNATIONAL BOBSLEIGH AND SKELETON FEDERATION]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/12/6bee036b-bf39-44c4-802e-603b65a2a686.jpg)
A map of the Cortina Sliding Centre [INTERNATIONAL BOBSLEIGH AND SKELETON FEDERATION]
“Turn 4 is tough, but it’s better than facing an ultrahigh-difficulty track where everything comes down to driving,” Won said. “Our athletes are young but meticulous. If they attack it well, we could see Korea win another medal in sliding sports.”
Skeleton national team coach Lee Han-sin also sounded optimistic.
“Jung Seung-gi’s condition has been improving, and his times are getting better,” Lee said. “If he gets a good start and makes it cleanly through Turns 1 to 4, it’s worth taking a shot at the medals.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PIH JU-YOUNG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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