Gangneung, Korea, January 22, 2024: If the young speed skaters warming up for the women’s 500 metres on Monday morning needed any inspiration, two Winter Olympics icons provided this at Gangneung Oval.
Korea’s Lee Sang-hwa and Japan’s Nao Kodaira provided one of the most memorable moments in Olympic Winter Games history at this very venue in 2018, when Nao ended Lee’s hopes of a 500m hat trick in her final Olympic race.
Kodaira edged Lee to finish first in a Games record of 36.94 seconds, becoming the first Japanese female to win a speed skating gold.
Lee, as one would expect, was in ruins and in tears, unable to come through. But there was Kodaira, draped in the Japanese flag, embracing and consoling her Korean friend who wept in her arms like a child.
On Monday, the organising committee of the Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024, together with the International Olympic Committee, staged a reunion at the same venue, 30 minutes before the start of the women’s 500 metres – the opening event of the speed skating programme.
The reunion attracted the mass media, notably from Korea, and several from Japan. Lee was the first to arrive, and waited for Kodaira to join her in the Mixed Zone of the Gangneung Oval where athletes talk to the media after the race.
The pair answered questions about their friendship and looked back on that memorable moment at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018.
Lee said: “We have kept in touch since the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and we were on TV together in Japan when I visited her hometown Nagano. We have kept our friendship strong through messaging and email.
“To return to the Gangneung Oval brings back a lot of memories and makes me feel very emotional.”
Kodaira added: “When we were young athletes there was no Winter Youth Olympic Games, so this is a wonderful opportunity for everyone here to get experience and make new friends. We are telling them to enjoy this occasion and strive to compete in the Winter Olympics.”
Lee hung up her skates in May 2019 and Kodaira retired after Beijing 2022 – but their friendship remains, despite the fierce rivalry between the two winter sports powers.
The event was billed as “A special reunion of two gold medallists” as the pair delivered messages of support to athletes at Gangwon 2024 and provided an inspiration to athletes and countless youth worldwide.
Lee Sang-hwa is the co-chair of the Winter YOG organising committee and Kodaira was appointed Athlete Role Model by the IOC.
