[PyeongChang 2018] Lee Sang-hwa aims for 3rd gold, bobsleigh duo to begin medal hunt

South Korean speed skater Lee Sang-hwa will compete for her third Olympic gold medal on Sunday, as the bobsleigh tandem of Won Yun-jong and Seo Young-woo begins their hunt for a spot on the podium in the two-man bobsleigh event at the PyeongChang Winter Games.

Lee will compete in the women's 500m speed skating event at Gangneung Oval in the sub-host city of Gangneung. The two-time Olympic champion is betting everything on the 500m race, having dropped out of Wednesday's 1,000m event to focus on Sunday's competition.

Lee is the current 500m world record holder at 36.36 seconds. At 28, Lee is entering her fourth and possibly final Olympics.

Nao Kodaira of Japan is considered a major threat to Lee's race toward another Olympic gold. The Japanese speed skater won all seven races during the 2017-2018 International Skating Union World Cup Speed Skating season, making her Lee's biggest rival.

South Korea's male duo Won Yun-jong and Seo Young-woo will compete in the first two heats of the two-man bobsleigh event at Olympic Sliding Centre in PyeongChang.

Before skeleton slider Yun Sung-bin, who won the country's first gold medal Friday, the two-man bobsleigh team was the first Asian team to finish the season with a world No. 1 ranking in one of the sliding sports, which Europeans and North Americans usually dominate. Won and Seo won the overall title for the 2015-2016 International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation World Cup season with two golds and three silvers. Winners will be decided on Monday after two more heats.

Elsewhere, the joint Korean women's hockey team will face off against the loser of a match between Switzerland and Olympic Athletes from Russia later in the day, and naturalized biathlete Timofei Lapshin will compete in the 15km biathlon mass start event. (Yonhap)