Choi Min-jeong

South Korean speed skater (born 1998)

Choi Min-jeong
Personal information
NationalitySouth Korean
Born (1998-09-09) 9 September 1998 (age 25)
Seongnam, South Korea
Height1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Weight54 kg (119 lb)
Sport
CountrySouth Korea
SportShort track speed skating
ClubSeongnam City Hall
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)500m: 42.422 (2018)
1000m: 1:26:850 (2022)
1500m: 2:14:354 WR (2016)
3000m: 4:58:939 (2018)
Medal record
Women's short track speed skating
Representing  South Korea
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 3 2 0
World Championships 16 6 1
Asian Games 2 1 1
World Junior Championships 2 1 1
Total 23 10 3
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Pyeongchang 1500 m
Gold medal – first place 2018 Pyeongchang 3000 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2022 Beijing 1500 m
Silver medal – second place 2022 Beijing 1000 m
Silver medal – second place 2022 Beijing 3000 m relay
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Moscow Overall
Gold medal – first place 2015 Moscow 1000 m
Gold medal – first place 2015 Moscow 3000 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2016 Seoul Overall
Gold medal – first place 2016 Seoul 1000 m
Gold medal – first place 2016 Seoul 3000 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2018 Montreal Overall
Gold medal – first place 2018 Montreal 500 m
Gold medal – first place 2018 Montreal 1500 m
Gold medal – first place 2018 Montreal 3000 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2019 Sofia 1500 m
Gold medal – first place 2019 Sofia 3000 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2022 Montreal Overall
Gold medal – first place 2022 Montreal 1000 m
Gold medal – first place 2022 Montreal 1500 m
Gold medal – first place 2022 Montreal 3000 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2016 Seoul 1500 m
Silver medal – second place 2019 Sofia Overall
Silver medal – second place 2019 Sofia 1000 m
Silver medal – second place 2023 Seoul 1000 m
Silver medal – second place 2023 Seoul 1500 m
Silver medal – second place 2023 Seoul 3000 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Moscow 1500 m
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2017 Sapporo 1500 m
Gold medal – first place 2017 Sapporo 3000 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2017 Sapporo 1000 m
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Sapporo 500 m
Winter World University Games
Gold medal – first place 2023 Lake Placid 500 m
Gold medal – first place 2023 Lake Placid 1000 m
Gold medal – first place 2023 Lake Placid 1500 m
Gold medal – first place 2023 Lake Placid 3000 m relay
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Erzurum 1000 m
Gold medal – first place 2014 Erzurum 3000 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2014 Erzurum 1500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Erzurum Overall
Choi Min-jeong
Hangul
최민정
Hanja
崔珉禎
Revised RomanizationChoe Minjeong
McCune–ReischauerCh'oe Minjŏng

Choi Min-jeong (Korean: 최민정; born 9 September 1998) is a South Korean short track speed skater. She is a three-time Olympic Champion (2018, 2022), a four-time World Champion (2015, 2016, 2018, 2022), Four Continents Champion (2020), and the current world record holder for 1500m. Along with Chun Lee-kyung and Jin Sun-yu, Choi is widely regarded as one of the best female Korean short track speed skaters of all time.

Career

Junior career

Choi won third overall behind teammates Noh Do-hee and Ahn Se-jung after winning 1000m gold and 1500m silver at the 2014 World Junior Championships.

Senior career

During the 2014–15 season at the senior level, Choi won her first World Cup gold medal ahead of Arianna Fontana and Shim Suk-hee in Montréal. At just 16 years old, she took her first World title at the 2015 World Championships in Moscow after winning gold in 1000m and 3000m. A year later, she successfully defended her title in Seoul.[1] During the 2016–17 season, Choi set a new world record time of 2:14:354 in 1500m in Salt Lake City.

In 2018, at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Choi became a two-time Olympic Champion after winning gold in the 1500m and 3000m relay. She set and currently holds the Olympic record in the 500m after breaking the previous Olympic record set by Elise Christie by 0.45 seconds.[2] Choi was one of the big favourites heading to the A final, but she was penalized for interference having finished second.[3] Choi went on to win the 1500m gold and led her team to the 3000m relay gold by more than eight seconds.[1] She crashed and finished fourth after colliding with Shim Suk-hee in the 1000m finals.

Choi won her third overall World title at the 2018 World Championships, collecting 110 points overall after winning gold in the 500m, 1500m, and 3000m Superfinal.[4]

At the inaugural 2020 Four Continents Championships, Choi had a clean sweep after winning gold medals in every distance. She was crowned the first-ever Four Continents overall champion after finishing first overall ahead of teammate Seo Whi-min and Courtney Sarault by a staggering margin of 89 and 92 points, respectively.[5] The 2020 World Championships in Seoul was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Choi withdrew from the 2021 World Championships due to the pandemic.[6]

During the 2021–22 season, she suffered knee and ankle injuries in separate collisions during the October World Cup opener in Beijing.[7] She was unable to compete in at the following World Cup event in Nagoya due to her injuries.[8] Choi also had to deal with off-ice issues when the leaked text messages from her longtime teammate Shim implied that Shim tripped her on purpose during the match.[9]

Choi competed for Korea at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, winning gold in the 1500m, setting a new Olympic record in the quarterfinal. She also won two silver medals in the 1000m and women's 3000m relay.[10][11][12]

Choi was crowned the world short track speed skating champion at the 2022 World Championships after winning gold in the 1000m, 1500m, and 3000m Superfinals. This is her first world title in four years (vice world champion in 2019, world championships cancelled in 2020, withdrew in 2021) and her fourth overall world title.[13] She also anchored Team Korea in the women's 3000m relay from the bronze medal position to gold in the final curve of the relay with an incredible move, finishing 0.034 seconds ahead of Team Canada.

Personal life

Choi took up skating as a hobby at the age of six and joined a local club to pursue skating further.[14][15] Her role model is Jin Sun-yu.[16] She is enrolled at Yonsei University.[17]

Philanthropy

On 7 March 2022, Choi donated 50 million won to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association to help the victims of the massive wildfire that started in Uljin, Gyeongbuk, and has spread to Samcheok, Gangwon.[18]

Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination
Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result Ref.
National Brand Awards 2022 National Brand Awards in Sports Choi Min-jeong Won [19]

References

  1. ^ a b "Life is a learning curve for Republic of Korea's golden girl Choi Min-Jeong". Olympics. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Watch Winter Olympics: Day one highlights". BBC Sport. 7 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Winter Olympics: DQ drama hits South Korea's star skater Choi as veteran Fontana grabs Italy's 1st Pyeongchang gold". The Straits Times. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  4. ^ "ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships: the best moments – International Skating Union". isu.org. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Best Moment: Choi Min Jeong leaves rivals gasping with ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating clean sweep – International Skating Union". isu.org. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Absence of Asian powerhouses creates opportunity for Schulting – International Skating Union". isu.org. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Choi Min-jeong returns to Korea after injury at ISU World Cup". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  8. ^ "ST – Person Bio". isu.html.infostradasports.com. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  9. ^ Yonhap (5 January 2022). "Olympic short track champion downplays concerns about medal". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Korean speed skater Choi Minjeong after winning gold in women's 1500m: "Thanks to all who support me"". olympics.com.
  11. ^ Jack Bantock. "Choi Min-Jeong bounces back from tearful silver to defend women's 1500m speed skating title". CNN. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  12. ^ "South Korea's Choi Min-jeong extends reign in women's 1,500-meter short track". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Min Jeong Choi (KOR) claims fourth overall title – International Skating Union". isu.org. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  14. ^ "최민정, 6세 취미로 시작한 스케이트 "선수까지 할 줄 몰랐다"". 남도일보 (in Korean). 22 February 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  15. ^ "'두번 눈물 없다'…최민정 '경쟁자는 내 자신'". 매일신문 (in Korean). Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  16. ^ "[베이징올림픽] 전이경→진선유→최민정, '여제' 계보가 완성되기까지". 종합일간지 (in Korean). 17 February 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  17. ^ "쇼트트랙 최민정, 동계U대회 4관왕". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 22 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  18. ^ Jeong bit (6 March 2022). "김연아·최민정, 산불 피해복구 위해 기부…스포츠 스타들도 동참" [Kim Yu-na and Choi Min-jung donate for forest fire damage recovery... Sports stars also participate] (in Korean). Sports Chosun. Retrieved 6 March 2022 – via Naver.
  19. ^ Park, Seung-hyun (19 September 2022). "오겜' 이정재, 국회서 국가브랜드 대상 받는다" ['Ogem' Lee Jung-jae receives the national brand grand prize at the National Assembly] (in Korean). AtStyle. Retrieved 19 September 2022 – via Naver.

External links

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