Home > Sports > Olympic Sports

Skeleton racer Jung Seung-gi pushed his body past the brink. Now, he's an Olympian again.

Published: 14 Feb. 2026, 08:58 Updated: 14 Feb. 2026, 09:05

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

Jung Seung-gi reacts in the finish area of the men's event of the skeleton competitions at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, on Feb. 13. [EPA/YONHAP]

Jung Seung-gi is a skeleton slider. But he could just as easily be called a phoenix, thanks to his improbable rise from the ashes of a potentially career-ending — and life-changing — injury to a 10th-place finish at the 2026 Olympic Games.

Jung recorded 3’45”90 — 2.57 seconds behind Olympic champion Matt Weston from Britain who finished his race at 3’43”33.

“After injury, I had doubted whether I could compete in the Olympics, yet hopeful and optimistic thoughts led me to here today,” Jung said after finishing his fourth and final heat at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy on Friday. “I think I have given everything I can. In that sense, I am proud of myself.”

The 26-year-old, now in his 10th year of the sport, proved to be a late bloomer and resilient fighter.

At the age of 16, he was fascinated by the sight of athletes piercing through the air on the frozen circuit at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. What ignited his passion was a line from commentators: “Anyone can do skeleton, regardless of their past sports experience.”

Jung Seung-gi reacts after the men's skeleton heat 2 during IBSF World Championships held in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Jan. 9. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The inspired teenager headed to Pyeongchang in Korea, where the training facility is located.

Just four years later, Jung carried the Korean flag during the opening ceremony at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics as a hot prospect. He also witnessed his idol, Yun Sung-bin, clinching gold.

Nearly four years later, Jung outcompeted Yun at the sixth International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup, which was held about a month before the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

Unlike the Games four years prior, when he was a mere spectator at PyeongChang, Jung raced as a national athlete in the Beijing Olympics. He finished tenth, two places ahead of his mentor Yun.

Yet that result wasn't good enough for some to believe that Jung deserved to be called Yun's successor, with concerns expressed about his sluggish growth compared to the Korean skeleton torchbearer, who won gold just four years and six months after getting into the sport.

Jung Seung-gi trains at the Cortina Sliding Centre in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, on Feb. 10. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

However, Jung was not bothered by harsh assessments. He kept launching himself headfirst down icy circuits.

He finally shrugged off concerns about late development in 2023 at the World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, where he won bronze by beating British athlete Craig Thompson by 0.01 seconds. It was the second time Korean skeleton athletes stood on the podium since Yun’s bronze medal win in 2019.

Later that year, Jung secured his first World Cup gold medal in the second race of the tournament. He also earned a silver medal in the third race, although he had posted the fastest start in the first and second trials.

Jung Seung-gi's achievements [CHUN YU-JIN]

But, as many athletes learn throughout their careers, the human body can only bend so far before breaking, and in October 2024, Jung was faced with the prospect of not only never competing but never walking again.

The rising skeleton star suffered a slipped disc during weight training. The injury affected nerves connected to his legs and paralyzed him from the waist down, requiring emergency surgery. His doctor warned him that he may be permanently disabled.

Jung Seung-gi poses for a photograph during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon, on Jan. 19. [KIM JONG-HO]

“I just thought I would be lucky if I could walk again,” Jung said in an interview with Chosun Ilbo last year.

He underwent rehabilitation training in earnest for a year.

"It was the most difficult moment in my life," Jung said in a recent interview with Segye Ilbo, a local newspaper. "I felt betrayed because I felt losing my competence in the start, which I cultivated through hellish training."

Yet he did not lose hope.

"When you look at those who achieved success, those outcomes come after experiencing hardship," Jung said in an interview with SBS last month. "I reminded myself that 'I am going through that phase right now.'"

Jung Seung-gi starts in a men's skeleton training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, on Feb. 9. [AP/YONHAP]

He made a miraculous return to the icy track in November last year, eager but rusty.

“These days, I am struggling because my start — which was my strength — has now become a weakness,” Jung said.

Despite losing that advantage, he remained competent enough.

At the third IBSF World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway, held in December of last year, he ranked third. He had his lucky talisman over his head — a black helmet with imagery depicting a turtle ship.

For Jung, a Korean history geek, the decal embodied his hope to cruise to victory as triumphantly as the turtle ship did hundreds of years ago as the vanguard of the naval fleet under the order of Admiral Yi Sun-shin, the legendary commander of the Korean fleet between 1592 and 1598.

Jung Seung-gi waves after finishing his race at the 2022 Beijing Olympics on Feb. 11, 2022. [YONHAP]

For the 2026 Olympics, he skipped the season’s final World Cup game, a strategy to save his energy.

“These days, I am seeing what I was not able to see when I had a fast start,” Jung told Yonhap News Agency. “Now I am focusing on cruising.”

“Athletes should aim the highest. My goal is always the gold.”

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]

More in Olympic Sports

Figure skating 'prince' Cha Jun-hwan reflects on Olympic journey, fourth-place finish

From child actor to figure skating master, Cha Jun-hwan came to the Olympics to put on a spectacle

Skeleton racer Jung Seung-gi pushed his body past the brink. Now, he's an Olympian again.

Teen snowboarder Lee Chae-un goes full-throttle on halfpipe at Olympics

Choi Min-jeong falls short in 500 meters, but short track veteran confident about other events

korea joongAng daily

Home > Sports > Olympic Sports

Skeleton racer Jung Seung-gi pushed his body past the brink. Now, he's an Olympian again.

Related Article

Slide to survive: Korea's skeleton, bobsleigh teams face daunting Turn 4 on route to podium

Skeleton racer Kim Eun-ji ends first Games in 23rd place

Jung Seung-gi secures top-10 finish in men's skeleton

More in Olympic Sports

Related Stories

You might also like