Home > Sports > Olympic Sports

Short track speed skating legend Choi Min-jeong announces end of her Olympic career

Published: 22 Feb. 2026, 10:13

Korean short track speed skater Choi Min-jeong speaks at a press conference at the Korea House in Milan on Feb. 21. [YONHAP]

Less than 24 hours after short track speed skating legend Choi Min-jeong announced the end of her Olympic career, her appreciative teammates congratulated the outgoing captain on a memorable run in Korean sports history.

Moments after winning the silver medal in the women's 1,500 meters at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games on Friday night, Choi said she will not compete in another Olympics.

It was the seventh medal of Choi's career, making her the most decorated Korean Olympian.

Choi made her announcement in her postrace interview, and it caught her teammates by surprise. Kim Gil-li, who beat Choi for the 1,500 meters gold and teamed up with her for the 3,000 meters relay gold, became quite emotional when she was told the news. Choi's comments were made minutes before Kim's own interview.

Having had a few more hours to digest the news, Kim was able to give her teammate and mentor a more proper farewell on Saturday.

“It has been an honor to compete alongside [Choi] on such a big stage,” Kim said at the short track national team's press conference at the Korea House in Milan. “She has done a wonderful job as our captain. We created some unforgettable memories together here.”

Though Choi served as the team captain, she was the second youngest member of the quintet. Lee So-yeon, the team's oldest member, said she admires Choi for her work ethic and leadership qualities.

Members of the Korean women's national short track speed skating team pose with their gold medals from the 3,000-meter relay at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics during a press conference at the Korea House in Milan on Feb. 21. From left are Shim Suk-hee, Noh Do-hee, Kim Gil-li, Choi Min-jeong and Lee So-yeon. [NEWS1]

“I think she should stick around a little longer,” Lee said with a smile. “But I also know how much of a grind it has been for her to get to this point. So I fully support her decision.”

Shim Suk-hee has a much different history with Choi than the others. The two were once close friends, representing the future of Korean short track together at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. However, in expletive-laden text messages sent to a coach during those Olympics, revealed in late 2021, Shim denigrated her then-teammates and even hinted that she would intentionally trip Choi if they ended up in the same race.

Shim was suspended but was later reunited with Choi on the national team. The two have since maintained a professional relationship but are not believed to be on speaking terms off the ice.

Still, that didn't keep Shim from congratulating Choi and her career on Saturday.

Korean short track speed skater Choi Min-jeong is seen after her 1,500-meter final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on Feb. 20. [YONHAP]

“She already had so much on her plate since she had to prepare for individual races, but she still took time to work with the rest of us for the relay,” Shim said. “The responsibilities as our captain must have been tough to handle, and I want to thank her for giving her best effort.”

Noh Do-hee hinted that she would have preferred to have heard the news directly from Choi.

“I only found out through her interview. I was upset when I heard [about her decision]," Noh said. “I thought we were always going to be together. She doesn't often show her emotions, and I figured it must have been really difficult for her to go through what she's gone through.”

Choi reiterated that this was her last Olympics but that she hadn't decided whether to skate in other international events.

Choi offered a moment of levity with a joke about Lee's age.

“[Lee] was really inspiring. Whenever I saw her, I told myself, 'She's so old, and she's still doing this. So why can't I?'” Choi said with a laugh. “I ran into her in the weight room quite a few times, and we trained side by side. She really kept me going here, and I want to thank her for her support.”

Yonhap