Speed skater to take ice with heavy heart

When speed skater Noh Seon-young takes the ice for the women's 3,000 meters at Adler Arena Skating Center at the Sochi Winter Olympics on Sunday, she will do so with a heavy heart.

Noh, 24, is an older sister of former short track world champion Noh Jin-kyu, who was forced to miss Sochi while battling bone cancer. The siblings have both qualified for the Olympics, but the brother broke his elbow during a practice in January that ruled him out of the Olympics.

Noh also underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his left shoulder. He first discovered a smaller, benign tumor there last September but decided not to have it removed until after the Olympics. It had grown larger and malignant by last month, however, and he has been prescribed chemotherapy treatments.

Yang Shin-young and Kim Bo-reum will join Noh Seon-young in the speed skating race on Sunday.

Elsewhere, biathlon, cross-country and luge competition will be under way.

The following is the list of events for South Korean athletes on Sunday. All times are local.

-Biathlon (Laura Cross-country Ski & Biathlon Center) Women's 7.5km sprint (6:30 p.m.)

-Cross-country (Laura Cross-country Ski & Biathlon Center) Men's skiathlon 15km classic + 15km free (2 p.m.)

-Luge (Sanki Sliding Center)

-Men's singles, Run 3 (6:30 p.m.)

-Men's singles, Run 4 (8:40 p.m.)

-Ski jumping (RusSki Gorki Ski Jumping Center) Men's normal hill individual, first round (9:30 p.m.) Men's normal hill individual, final round (10:30 p.m.)

-Speed skating (Adler Arena Skating Center) Women's 3,000m (3:30 p.m.)

(Yonhap)