Korea's Chung Seung-gi Finishes 10th in Skeleton for Second Straight Olympics

South Korean skeleton ace Chung Seung-gi secured 10th place at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, marking his second consecutive top-10 Olympic finish.

Chung, who competes for Gangwon Provincial Office, recorded a combined time of 3 minutes 45.90 seconds across four heats at the Cortina Sliding Centre in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, on Friday.

After sharing eighth place following the first two heats on Wednesday, Chung improved his standing with a 56.19-second third run. However, he lost some speed in the final heat, finishing at 56.49 seconds. The result matches his 10th-place finish at his Olympic debut in Beijing 2022.

Chung inherited the ace position as successor to Yun Sung-bin, the 2018 Pyeongchang gold medalist. Following his Beijing performance, Chung continued his upward trajectory, claiming his first World Cup victory at the second competition of the 2023-2024 season.

His path to these Games was marked by adversity. In October 2024, just before the World Cup season opener, Chung suffered a severe back injury during weight training that caused partial paralysis in his lower body, threatening his career.

Despite the painful treatment and rehabilitation, Chung competed in Milan-Cortina. While the result may leave room for disappointment, it represents his best effort given the serious injury he overcame. With two consecutive Olympic top-10 finishes now secured, Chung is already looking ahead to the 2030 Games.

Veteran Kim Ji-su, also of Gangwon Provincial Office, returned to Olympic competition for the first time in eight years since Pyeongchang 2018. He finished 16th with a combined time of 3 minutes 48.11 seconds, breaking into the 56-second range for the first time with a 56.93-second final run after posting 57.03 in the third heat.

Britain's Matt Weston captured gold in his Olympic debut with a time of 3 minutes 43.33 seconds. Germany's Axel Jungk, the Beijing 2022 silver medalist, took silver at 3 minutes 44.21 seconds, trailing by 0.88 seconds. Fellow German Christopher Grotheer, the defending Olympic champion, claimed bronze at 3 minutes 44.40 seconds.