The Korea Herald

PyeongChang Olympics chief organizer resigns

Olympic GamesJul 21, 2014

Kim Jin-sun, a former governor of Gangwon Province, resigned Monday as head of the organizing committee of South Korea’s first Winter Games in 2018, saying he felt a change in leadership would be necessary to ensure a successful Olympics.Kim, 67, had been the top organizer of the Winter Olympics to be held in PyeongChang, an alpine town in the eastern province of Gangwon, since October 2011. In July that year, PyeongChang beat out Germany’s Munich for the right to stage the 2018 Olympics.In a st
Ko takes Marathon with closing birdie

GolfJul 21, 2014

SYLVANIA, Ohio (AP) ― Now that she’s officially a millionaire, Lydia Ko joked she’ll have to keep a closer watch on where her paychecks go.“I’ll probably see that going into my mom’s account,” she said with a laugh, referring to the $210,000 she got for winning Sunday’s Marathon Classic.The 17-year-old broke free from a late tie with Ryu So-yeon, hitting a wedge to 4 feet for birdie on the 72nd hole to take the lead. Then she tried in vain ― she’s just 5-foot-5 ― to see past the large gallery at
KBO managers want umpire review to precede video replay

BaseballJul 21, 2014

When the second half of the South Korean professional baseball season starts on Tuesday, the league will have a new twist to its review system. Ahead of last Friday’s All-Star Game at the Korea Baseball Organization, the nine managers agreed to adopt a “four-man review” system that will precede expanded video replay starting in the season’s second half.Earlier this month, executives from the KBO teams had agreed to expand video replay for the remainder of the season to cover safe-out, fair-foul
Park Tae-hwan wins sixth race at national trials

More sportsJul 21, 2014

Korean swimming star Park Tae-hwan on Monday won his sixth race at the ongoing national team trials for the upcoming Asian Games, taking the 400-meter individual medley with a meet record.In Gimcheon, about 230 kilometers southeast of Seoul, Park came in first with a time of 4:23.21, shedding 0.22 second off the previous mark.The winners of each race here will qualify for this year’s Asian Games, which will be held in the South Korean city of Incheon from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.Last week, Park finis
McIlroy wins British Open for 3rd major

More sportsJul 21, 2014

HOYLAKE, England (AP) ― Walking off the 18th green as the British Open champion, Rory McIlroy kept gazing at all the greats on golf’s oldest trophy.On the claret jug, his name is etched in silver below Phil Mickelson.In the record book, he is listed behind Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the youngest to get three legs of the career Grand Slam.And over four days at Royal Liverpool, he had no equal.“I’m immensely proud of myself,” McIlroy said after his two-shot victory Sunday that was never real
Father cashes in

More sportsJul 21, 2014

HOYLAKE, England (AP) ― Rory McIlroy was not the only winner at the British Open on Sunday.The BBC said McIlroy’s father, Gerry, and three of Gerry’s friends placed a combined bet of 400 pounds (now $680) in 2004 on McIlroy winning the British Open before he turned 26.McIlroy was 15 at the time of the wager and is now 25.The odds were 500-1, so the syndicate looks to collect 200,000 pounds ($340,000) now that McIlroy has lifted the claret jug. He won by two strokes over Sergio Garcia and Rickie
Chief organizer of Pyeongchang Winter Olympics offers to resign

Olympic GamesJul 21, 2014

The chief organizer of South Korea's first Winter Olympics has offered to resign, a government official said Monday.The official said Kim Jin-sun, head of the organizing committee for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, recently expressed his intention to quit and that his resignation offer has been accepted, without offering specific time frames.Kim, 67, has been the top organizer of the Winter Games since November 2011, four months after Pyeongchang, an alpine town in the eastern province
Pace, Diaz share lead at Marathon

More sportsJul 20, 2014

SYLVANIA, Ohio (AP) ― South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace, seeking a breakthrough win in the U.S., shot a 3-under 68 to grab a share of the lead with Laura Diaz in the Marathon Classic on Saturday.Pace, an eight-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, bounced back from bogeys at holes 11 and 12 to join Diaz at 11-under 202. She can barely express what a breakthrough win on the LPGA Tour might bring.“It’ll mean quite a lot to be able to come out here and play well,” she said. “It already has made my we
Rory McIlroy builds 6-shot lead at Open

More sportsJul 20, 2014

HOYLAKE, England (AP) ― Rory McIlroy looked as though he had just thrown a knockout punch at the British Open, and it was only Saturday.When he rolled in a 10-foot eagle putt on the final hole for a 4-under 68, he straightened his back, stared defiantly at thousands of fans crammed into the horseshoe arena around the 18th green at Royal Liverpool and lightly pumped his fist.He went from being tied for the lead to six shots ahead of Rickie Fowler in just over an hour.And suddenly, the biggest cha
Pirates top Rockies in 11th

BaseballJul 20, 2014

PITTSBURGH (AP) ― Nobody plays more one-run games than the Pittsburgh Pirates.No wonder they are starting to look so comfortable when things get tight.Jordy Mercer doubled home Neil Walker with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift the Pirates to a 3-2 win over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night.Pittsburgh improved to 23-17 in one-run games this season, including 16-8 at home.“We feel like we’re never out of anything, especially in this ballpark,” Mercer said. “We just kind of fee
Brazil eyes Dunga as Scolari successor

SoccerJul 20, 2014

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) ― Brazil could appoint former coach Dunga to replace Luiz Felipe Scolari as national team boss, media reports indicated Saturday, despite ex-Corinthians coach Tite being considered the longtime favorite. The Brazilian Football Confederation earlier confirmed it will unveil its choice of Scolari’s successor on Tuesday at 11 a.m. in western Rio and a clutch of Brazilian newspapers said Dunga, 50, would return for a second spell.The front-runner, at least until Saturday, was be
N. Korea’s Kim has ‘great expectations’ for Asian Games

More sportsJul 20, 2014

SEOUL (AFP) ― North Korea’s Kim Jong-un expressed “great expectations” for their athletes at the upcoming Asian Games in the South, state media said Sunday, despite Pyongyang’s earlier threat to boycott the event.The North had announced plans to send athletes and cheerleaders to the Games to be held in Incheon from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.But inter-Korea talks on Thursday to coordinate their visit broke down due to disagreement over issues including who was going to shoulder the cost of the trip, pro
S. Korea to meet Venezuela in first A match after FIFA World Cup disappointment

SoccerJul 19, 2014

South Korea's national football team is expected to take on Venezuela in its first A match since its early shutout in the Brazil FIFA World Cup, the country's governing body for the popular sport said Saturday.According to the Korea Football Association, the friendly versus the South American team will take place on Sept. 5. It likely will be the first one for Korea's new head coach, who has yet to be selected.There has been speculation that a candidate is being sought among K League coaches but
McIlroy, Tiger deliver at Brit Open

GolfJul 18, 2014

Korea’s Choi Kyung-ju chips onto the 16th green at the British Open on Thursday. ( UPI-Yonhap)HOYLAKE, England (AP) ― Rory McIlroy had everything go his way Thursday in the British Open. A lovely summer day in England with abundant sunshine and minimal wind allowed him to attack Royal Liverpool. He made half his six birdies on the par 5s and kept bogeys off his card. And on the day Tiger Woods made a promising return, McIlroy took the lead with a 6-under 66, his best score in nearly two years at
Diaz shoots 62 to lead Marathon Classic by 4

GolfJul 18, 2014

SYLVANIA, Ohio (AP) ― Laura Diaz got off to a surprising start at the Marathon Classic.Diaz shot a 9-under 62 for a four-stroke lead in Thursday’s opening round.U.S. Open champion Michelle Wie shot a 2-over 73, 2008 Marathon winner Paula Creamer was at 72 along with another perennial contender at Highland Meadows, Morgan Pressel.The defending champion, Spain’s Beatriz Recari, and the world’s No. 1-ranked player, Stacy Lewis, a Toledo native, were well down the list at 1 under.“I definitely didn’