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Lee Sang-hwa

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This article is about the female speed skater. For the poet during the 1920s–1940s, seeYi Sang-hwa.
In thisKorean name,the family name isLee.
Lee Sang-hwa
Personal information
Born(1989-02-25)February 25, 1989(age 35)
Seoul,South Korea
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight62 kg (137 lb)
Spouse
​
(m.2019)​
Sport
CountrySouth Korea
SportSpeed skating
TeamSeoul Metropolitan Government
Retired2019
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Vancouver 500 m
Gold medal – first place 2014 Sochi 500 m
Silver medal – second place 2018 Pyeongchang 500 m
World Sprint Championships
Gold medal – first place 2010 Obihiro Women
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Salt Lake City Women
World Single Distance Championships
Gold medal – first place 2012 Heerenveen 500 m
Gold medal – first place 2013 Sochi 500 m
Gold medal – first place 2016 Kolomna 500 m
Silver medal – second place 2011 Inzell 500 m
Silver medal – second place 2017 Gangneung 500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Inzell 500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Vancouver 500 m
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Seinäjoki All Around
Winter Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2007 Torino 500 m
Gold medal – first place 2009 Harbin 500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Harbin 100 m
Asian Winter Games
Silver medal – second place 2007 Changchun 500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Astana-Almaty 500 m
Silver medal – second place 2017 Sapporo 500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Changchun 100 m
Lee Sang-hwa
Hangul
이상화
Hanja
Lý tương hoa
Revised RomanizationI Sang-hwa
McCune–ReischauerRi Sang-hwa

Lee Sang-hwa(Korean:이상화;Hanja:Lý tương hoa,Korean pronunciation:[i.saŋ.ɦwa];born 25 February 1989) is a South Korean retiredspeed skaterwho specialises in the sprint distances. She is a two-time Olympic champion in 500 metres (2010 and 2014) and the 2010 World Sprint champion. She is the current world record holder in women's 500 metres with the time of 36.36 seconds set in Salt Lake City on 16 November 2013,[1]and held the South Korean record on 1000 metres from March 2009 until January 2024.[2]

She has also won threeWorld Championshipsmedals in 500 metres, and has placed in the top three in World Cup events four times in this distance. Her first World Cup victory, however, came on the non-Olympic distance 100 metres. On the 1000 metres, however, she has never placed higher than fifth in international events (2010 World Sprint Championships, first 1000 metres).

Early life and education

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Lee Sang-hwa was born in 1989 to Lee U-geun (father), a technician at Hwigyeong Girls' School, and Kim In-sun (mother). Lee has an older brother, Lee Sang-jun, who used to be a skater, too. Influenced by her brother, she started skating when she was in first grade at Eunseok Elementary School. Although her brother excelled at skating, and won a skating competition held in his elementary school, Lee appeared to have more talent for skating than him. Since their parents could not afford to support the extra activity of both children, only she continued skating.[3][4]

Lee andMo Tae-bum,gold medalist atVancouver 2010,are close friends since their elementary school period. Along with him, Lee is currently attendingKorea National Sport University.[5][6]

Career

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Lee first competed internationally aged 14 in Canada, where she skated several test races in October 2003, winning comfortably and skating with a best time of 39.02 seconds. At the time, the U19 world record was 38.53. Her firstISUchampionship was inRoseville, Minnesota,during the 2004World Junior Championships.As the youngest participant, she finished 16th, though she took third place on the 500 metres, 0.45 seconds behind world junior record holderShannon Rempel.

The following season, she raced 38.77 in test races in Calgary, and was selected for theWorld Cupraces inNagano,HarbinandCalgary.She placed eighth in her first race, recording 38.71 in theM-Wave,Nagano, 0.29 seconds behind winnerWang Manli.She finished in the top ten a further five times that season, including two fourth-place finishes in 100 metre sprints, which gave her fifth place overall in the 100 metre World Cup. In other achievements, she won two senior Korean titles (on 2 × 500 metres and sprint), and came 14th in the 500 metres World Cup standings, 16th in the 1000 metres, and 15th in thesamalogstandings in theWorld Sprint Championships,though she was within half a second of the winner on both 500 metre races, finishing 9th and 12th.

In the World Championships, Lee won three medals that season; two in the junior championships, where she won bronze in the overall standings, though she was four points after the winner after 16th place on the 1500 and 19th on the 3000 metre event, and silver with the Korean team in theteam pursuitevent. And during the World Single Distance Championships in Inzell in March, two fourth-places were enough to take her to third place overall in the 500 metre competition, behind Chinese skatersWang ManliandWang Beixing.

In 2006, Lee improved on the 100 and 500 metres, though she fell into the B division on the 1000 metres. She finished on the World Cup podium four times during the season, including a win in the 100 metre World Cup final, though she finished behindJenny Wolfin the overall standings. On the 500 metres, she was sixth in the World Cup. She also added three senior Korean titles to her record, winning the 500 metres, 1000 metres, and overall sprint championship. During the season, she registered a world junior record on the 500 metres, with a time of 37.90 inUtah Olympic Oval.She failed to improve on her 1000-metre time from last season, however.

TheTurin Olympicsended with fifth place for Lee, despite her third-best second run which wasn't enough to lift her up more than one place. Earlier, she had finished 19th on the 1000 metres and 12th in the World Sprint Championships.

The2007 seasonhas seen further improvement for Lee. She is yet to finish outside the top two, and after three of 12 races she heads the overall standings on the 500 metres. She has also improved on the 1000 metres, and became 11th in the overall standings, with eighth place in Heerenveen.

At the2010 Winter Olympics,Lee won her first Olympic gold medal in thewomen's 500 mbecoming the first Asian woman ever to do so. She raced against Germany'sJenny Wolf,the world-record holder at the time, in both of her races. Although Wolf had the best time in the second of the two races, Lee edged her out by five hundredths of a second with a combined race time of 76.09 seconds to Wolf's 76.14 seconds.

On 9 November 2013, she broke theworld record on 500 metresin the2013–14 World Cup eventin Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with a time of 36.74 seconds.[7][8]On 15 November, in the2013–14 World Cup eventin Salt Lake City, United States, she improved the record a further 17/100, to 36.57 seconds.[9]The next day, she improved it another 21/100, to 36.36 seconds.[10]

On 11 February 2014, she won her second Olympic gold medal in thewomen's 500 mat the2014 Sochi Winter Olympicswith an Olympic record of 74.70 seconds and successfully defended her crown from the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Lee's second run set the Olympic record of 37.28 seconds, giving her an aggregate time of 74.70 seconds. Russia'sOlga Fatkulinafinished second with an aggregate time of 75.06 seconds, andMargot Boerof the Netherlands came in third with an aggregate time of 75.48 seconds. She became the first woman sinceCatriona Le May Doanat the 2002 Olympics to defend the gold at the event and just the third woman ever to win back-to-back Olympic gold in the 500 metres,[11][12]and the first Asian woman ever to do so.

Lee competed in her fourth Winter Olympics at the2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics,and won the silver, her third Olympic medal, in front of her home crowd. She was defeated by Japan'sNao Kodairawho was the other favourite coming into the event. Overcome with emotions upon finishing her lap, Lee burst into tears during the celebratory lap, and was consoled and embraced by her rival and friend, Kodaira. The scene of Lee and Kodaira embracing and congratulating each other, touched on many viewers and commentators worldwide, making it one of the most memorable moments of the 2018 Olympics.[13]

At a press conference on 16 May 2019, Lee officially announced she would retire from speed skating.[14]

In February 2022, Lee made her sports commentary debut at the2022 Winter Olympics.[15]

Personal life

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On 16 March 2019, Lee's agency confirmed that she and singerKangnamwere dating. They got to know each other after appearing on the SBS variety showLaw of the Jungle( "in Last Indian Ocean" part). On 29 August, Kangnam's and Lee Sang Hwa's labels collectively released an official statement, confirming the couple's marriage. The wedding ceremony was held on 12 October at a hotel in Seoul.[16]

The couple currently resides in a 5-story building constructed by her husband on a piece of land that has been in his family for generations in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

Records

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Personal records

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Personal records[17]
Speed skating
Event Result Date Location Notes
500 m 36.36 16 November 2013 Utah Olympic Oval,Salt Lake City Currentworld record.[1]
1000 m 1:13.66 21 September 2013 Olympic Oval,Calgary South Korean record until beaten byKim Min-sunon 28 January 2024.[2]
1500 m 2:00.66 7 September 2013 Olympic Oval, Calgary
3000 m 4:23.60 27 October 2002 Olympic Oval, Calgary

World records

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World records[18]
Speed skating
Event Result Date Location Notes
500 m 36.80 20 January 2013 Olympic Oval,Calgary World recorduntil beaten by herself on 9 November 2013.[19]
500 m 36.74 9 November 2013 Olympic Oval, Calgary World record until beaten by herself on 15 November 2013.[19]
500 m 36.57 15 November 2013 Utah Olympic Oval,Salt Lake City World record until beaten by herself on 16 November 2013.[19]
500 m 36.36 16 November 2013 Utah Olympic Oval, Salt Lake City Current world record.[1]

Filmography

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Television shows

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Year Title Network Role Notes Ref.
2022–present Sporty Sisters Tcast E-Channel Cast member Season 2 [20]

References

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  1. ^abc"World Records".www.speedskatingresults.com.Archivedfrom the original on 21 September 2022.Retrieved26 December2013.
  2. ^ab"National Records – Korea (KOR)".www.speedskatingresults.com.Retrieved15 July2024.
  3. ^"[빙속 여왕 이상화는…] 출국전 달력에" 16일 인생역전! "".3 August 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 17 October 2010.Retrieved19 February2010.
  4. ^"'모태범, 이상화' 우승…은석초 겹경사 ".17 February 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 8 July 2011.Retrieved19 February2010.
  5. ^"Sportsseoul.com - 종합 - 기사내용 - 이상화 mẫu" 내 딸아! 정말 장하구나! "".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-21.Retrieved2010-02-19.
  6. ^"경기 마친 이상화" 모태범과 열애설 웃겨 "".Archivedfrom the original on 2012-03-01.Retrieved2010-02-19.
  7. ^"Sang-Hwa Lee (KOR) sets world record in 500m".International Skating Union. 9 November 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 10 November 2013.Retrieved14 November2013.
  8. ^"Lee Sang-hwa breaks world record".ESPN.9 November 2013.Archivedfrom the original on 10 November 2013.Retrieved10 November2013.
  9. ^"Antoinette de Jong (NED) sets sub-four-minute Junior 3000m record".International Skating Union. 15 November 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 3 December 2013.Retrieved28 November2013.
  10. ^"Dutch set new Men's Team Pursuit world record".International Skating Union. 16 November 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 3 December 2013.Retrieved28 November2013.
  11. ^James O'Brien (2014-02-11)."Heather Richardson falls short of medal, Lee Sang-hwa wins 500m gold".NBC News.Archivedfrom the original on 2014-08-24.Retrieved2014-02-11.
  12. ^Yonhap News Agency (2014-02-11)."(Olympics) Speed skater Lee Sang-hwa poised for gold in women's 500 meters".GlobalPost.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-03-06.Retrieved2014-02-11.
  13. ^Soyoung Kim; Elaine Lies (2018-02-19)."Speed skating: South Korea, Japan celebrate skaters' bonhomie".Reuters.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-03-03.Retrieved2018-03-02.
  14. ^"Lee Sang-Hwa, fastest female speed skater in history, retires".NBC Sports.10 May 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 21 December 2022.Retrieved21 December2022.
  15. ^Choi Ji-yoon (February 7, 2022)."빙상여제 이상화 해설은 다를까…" 친근하고 재밌게 "[Is the interpretation of the Ice Empress Lee Sang-hwa different? "Friendly and fun] (in Korean).Newsis.Archivedfrom the original on February 7, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 7,2022– viaNaver.
  16. ^"[단독]이상화♥강남 커플 '연내 결혼' 가시화, 양가 부모에 인사"[[Exclusive] Lee Sang-hwa ♥ Gangnam couple ‘marriage within the year’ visible, greetings to parents of both families].Archivedfrom the original on 2019-03-31.Retrieved2019-03-20.
  17. ^"Sang-Hwa Lee".www.speedskatingresults.com.Archivedfrom the original on 24 December 2013.Retrieved26 December2013.
  18. ^"Lee Sang-hwa".www.speedskatingstats.com.Archivedfrom the original on 11 March 2018.Retrieved10 March2018.
  19. ^abc"Evolution of the world record 500 meters Women".www.speedskatingstats.com.Archivedfrom the original on 23 June 2018.Retrieved10 March2018.
  20. ^Ahn Eun-jae (March 21, 2022)."이상화 '노는언니2' 전격 합류…박세리와 만난다"[Lee Sang-hwa joins 'Nothing Sister 2'... Meet Se-ri Pak] (in Korean). News1.Archivedfrom the original on March 21, 2022.RetrievedMarch 21,2022– viaNaver.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toLee Sang-hwa.
Records
Preceded by Girls' sprint combination speed skating world record
23 January 2005 – 29 January 2012 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Girls' 500 m speed skating world record
18 November 2005 – 22 September 2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Women's 500 m speed skating world record
20 January 2013 – present 		Succeeded by
Current holder
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