Teenage short tracker seeks first Olympic medal

Shim Suk-hee, a 17-year-old short track phenom, will try to win her first Olympic medal in the women's 500 meters on Thursday.

Shim, Park Seung-hi and Kim A-lang have reached the quarterfinals in the 500ｍ. The quarters, the semis and the finals will all take place Thursday.

Shim has mostly dominated the 1,000ｍ and the 1,500ｍ events this season, while struggling with her starts in the 500ｍ. However, she may have a shot at a medal in the short distance event, too, with Wang Meng of China, the reigning Olympic champ and world record holder in the 500ｍ, missing from Sochi with a broken foot.

On the men's side, Lee Han-bin and Sin Da-woon will enter the heats for the 1,000ｍ and later the semifinals for the 5,000ｍ relay.

In the 1,500ｍ on Monday, Sin crashed out of the semifinals and inadvertently tripped up Lee in the process. Judges granted Lee a chance to compete in the final, where he only managed to finish in sixth.

Also on the ice, speed skater Lee Sang-hwa, the women's 500m champion, will take part in the 1,000ｍ, though she isn't a major threat in the longer distance.

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

- Biathlon (Laura Cross-country Ski & Biathlon Center) Men's 20㎞ individual (6 p.m.)

- Cross-country (Laura Cross-country Ski & Biathlon Center) Ladies' 10㎞ classic (2 p.m.)

- Curling (Ice Cube Curling Center)

Women's round robin match vs. Russia (7 p.m.)

- Luge (Sanki Sliding Center)

Team relay (8:15 p.m.)

- Short track speed skating (Iceberg Skating Palace) Ladies' 500ｍ quarterfinals (2 p.m.) Men's 1,000ｍ heats (2:27 p.m.) Ladies' 500ｍ semifinals (3:14 p.m.) Men's 5,000ｍ relay semifinals (3:35 p.m.) Ladies' 500ｍ finals (4:07 p.m.)

- Speed skating (Adler Arena Skating Center) Ladies' 1,000ｍ (6 p.m.)

(Yonhap)