No additional medals for Korea on penultimate day of Winter Olympics in Milan

Korea failed to add to its medal total at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Saturday, the penultimate day of the quadrennial event.

Speed skater Chung Jae-won came the closest, but he finished in fifth place in the men's start at Milano Speed Skating Stadium in Milan. With a time of 8:04.60, Chung ended up 0.18 seconds behind the bronze medal winner from Italy, Andrea Giovannini.

Park Ji-woo finished 14th in the women's mass start, the very last speed skating race of these Olympic Games. This is the first time that Korea has gone without a speed skating medal since 2002.

Also on Saturday, both of the Korean four-man bobsleigh teams found themselves outside medal contention at Cortina Sliding Centre in Cortina d'Ampezzo, 260 kilometers (161.5 miles) northeast of Milan. A team piloted by Kim Jin-su ranked in eighth place after the first two runs with a time of 1:49.50. The other Korean team, led by Suk Young-jin, ranked 23rd with 1:50.73.

These Winter Games will conclude on Sunday, and the two bobsleigh teams will be the only Korean athletes in action.

Korea has 10 medals so far: three gold medals with women's 1,500-meter short track speed skating by Kim Gil-li, women's 3,000-meter short track speed skating relay and women's snowboard halfpipe by Choi Ga-on; four silver medals with women's 1,500-meter short track speed skating by Choi Min-jeong, men's 1,500-meter short track speed skating by Hwang Dae-heon. men's 5,000-meter short track speed skating and men's parallel giant slalom by Kim Sang-kyum; and three bronze medals with women's 1,000-meter short track speed skating by Kim Gil-li, men's 1,000-meter short track speed skating by Rim Jong-un and women's snowboard big air by Yu Seung-eun.

BY YOON SO-YEON, YONHAP [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]