Home > Sports > Olympic Sports

Speed skater Koo Kyung-min ranks 10th in Olympic debut

Published: 12 Feb. 2026, 09:45

Koo Kyung-min of Korea competes in the men's 1,000-meter speed skating race at the Winter Olympics at Milano Speed Skating Stadium in Milan on Feb. 11. [YONHAP]

Speed skater Koo Kyung-min enjoyed a top-10 finish in his very first Winter Olympic race in Milan on Wednesday.

Lee ranked 10th in the men's 1,000 meters at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games with a time of 1:08.53 at Milano Speed Skating Stadium.

The 21-year-old ended up 2.25 seconds behind the champion from the United States, Jordan Stolz, who claimed his first gold medal with an Olympic record time of 1:06.28.

Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands won the silver medal in 1:06.78, and Ning Zhongyan of China got the bronze medal in 1:07.34.

Koo said afterward he didn't have to battle nerves before his Olympic debut.

"I am satisfied with my time today. I think I executed my plans really well," he said. "I don't think I've ever skated on a bigger stage. But I don't tend to get nervous before races. I actually had a lot of fun out there."

Koo will now shift his focus to his main event, the 500 meter, scheduled for Saturday.

"Of course, the goal is to reach the podium in the 500 meters, " Koo said. "I'm a little slow in the first 100 meters [328 feet], and so I need to work on that in the coming days. I will try my best to post a good result."

Yonhap