Lee Jung-su

Lee Jung-su (Korean: 이정수; Korean pronunciation: [i.dʑʌŋ.su]; born November 30, 1989) is a South Korean short track speed skater. He is a two-time Olympic Champion from 2010 Winter Olympics.

For the footballer, see Lee Jung-soo.
This is a Korean name; the family name is Lee.
Lee Jung-su
Personal information
Born (1989-11-30) November 30, 1989
Seoul, South Korea
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight60 kg (132 lb)
Sport
Country South Korea
SportShort track speed skating
Medal record
Men's short track speed skating
Representing  South Korea
Olympic Games
2010 Vancouver 1000 m
2010 Vancouver 1500 m
2010 Vancouver 5000 m relay
World Championships
2010 Sofia 5000 m relay
2012 Shanghai 5000 m relay
World Team Championships
2009 Heerenveen Team
2010 Bormio Team
World Junior Championships
2006 Miercurea-Ciuc Overall
2007 Mladá Boleslav Overall
2008 Bolzano Overall
Asian Winter Games
2017 Sapporo5000 m relay
2017 Sapporo1500 m
Korean name
Hangul
이정수
Hanja
李政洙
Revised RomanizationI Jeong-su
McCune–ReischauerI Chŏngsu

Lee won one distances and became second overall at the 2008 World Junior Championships in Bolzano. He won 2009-2010 Overall World Cup. At the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Lee won two gold medal in the 1000m and 1500m events.[1]

Early life and education

Lee was born in 1989 as the 25th generation of the Injegong branch in the Hansan Lee clan.[2] Lee's father, Lee Do-won is a department manager at the Kyunghyang Sinmun newspaper. Lee's family members are devoted Buddhists.[3] Lee started skating as a hobby in 2002 when he was in fourth grade at Seongok Elementary School. The school in the neighborhood of Wolgye-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul is located next to the ice rink at Kwangwoon University. Lee's older sister, Lee Hwa-yeong was a figure skater regarded as a rising rookie, who won an elementary competition at the Korean National Sports Festival when she was in 6th grade.[4] During the time, Lee's coach recommended Lee to be a professional skater. As Lee's school established a skating team, Lee joined it. Two years later, he switched from long track speed skating to short track speed skating.[5]

On the other hand, Lee's parents had financial difficulties in supporting their children's dream. They had to spend over 2,000,000 won (approximately US$1,736) per month for the fees of skating lessons, purchasing skating tools and renting exercising locations. Although Lee's parents worked together, spent all savings and even sold paddy fields in a countryside to support their children, that was not enough to cover all. They finally had to loan mortgages on their house where the family was living.[4] However, Lee's sister eventually gave up due to the financial situation and tried to seek her future in other sport genres that cost less money for training such as inline skating and wakeboarding. The fact that his sister had to drop her dream has stimulated Lee Jung-Su to focus on the skating training.[6]

Lee graduated from Gwangmun High School, and is, as of 2010, attending Dankook University.[5]

Lee has been handed a 3-year ban along with his teammate Kwak Yoon-Gy for controversial foulplay. Lee had written a note stating that he was not fit to compete in the World Championships 2010 Sofia, because of an injury. This turned out to be not true, and Lee admitted that his coach forced him to pull out so that he could give teammate Kwak Yoon-Gy a chance to win a medal. Kwak Yoon-Gy went on to win Gold in the 1500m.[7]

Career highlights
ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships
2008 – Bolzano, 2nd overall classification
1st at 500m
Winter Olympic Games
2010 – Vancouver, Gold at 1000m and 1500m

See also

References
  1. Neil Maidment (2010-02-13). "Short track-Gold medallist Lee Jung-su". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
  2. 이정수 아버지 "날 발 좋아 메달 딸것 같다더니" [Lee Jung-su's father "Because he felt good with the skating blades, he could won a medal"] (in Korean). Seoul Sinmun. 2010-02-21. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
  3. "⟨올림픽⟩ 이정수ㆍ이호석 부모 `환호ㆍ안도'(종합)" [⟨Olympics⟩ Lee Jung-su and Lee Ho-suk's parents 'Cheers, Relief' (general)] (in Korean). Yonhap. 2010-02-21. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
  4. Jo, Mi-deop (조미덥) (2010-02-21). 이정수 선수 부친 "아파도 훈련장에 가던 아들 좋은 결실 맺어 자랑스럽다" [Lee Jung-su's father, "I'm proud of my son who gains the good results and went to the training place regardless when he was even ill."] (in Korean). Kyunghyang Sinmun. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
  5. "쇼트트랙 1500m 금빛 질주 펼친 이정수는?" (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 2010-02-14.
  6. Jang, Min-seok (장민석) (2010-02-16). "⟨밴쿠버 동계올림픽⟩ 난 이제 시작일 뿐이야!" [⟨Vancouver Olympics⟩ I'm just at the beginning!] (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
  7. "<이정수-곽윤기, 3년 징계 '선수생명 위기'".
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