Lee Seung-hoon Withdraws in Tears After Practice Injury Before Finals

Lee Seung-hoon (Korea National Sport University) became the first Korean athlete to reach the finals in the freestyle skiing halfpipe event at the Winter Olympics but was forced to withdraw due to an unexpected injury.

On February 20 (local time) at the Livigno Snow Park in Italy, Lee scored 76 points in the men's halfpipe qualifying round at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, placing 10th among 25 athletes. He advanced to the finals featuring the top 12 competitors but could not compete due to injury.

According to his management agency, Lee struck his right knee against the pipe wall during practice ahead of the finals.

Lee skipped the first run of the finals to see if he could compete in the second and third runs, but when his condition did not improve, he ultimately withdrew and concluded his competition.

Halfpipe is an event where judges score aerial maneuvers performed by athletes on a semi-cylindrical slope, and it is contested in both skiing and snowboarding at the Olympics.

At this competition, Choi Ga-on (Sehwa Girls' High School) won the gold medal in women's snowboard halfpipe, becoming the first Korean to win gold in a snow sport.

Lee has been Korea's leading athlete in ski halfpipe. In February 2024, he became the first Korean freestyle skier to medal at a World Cup event, winning bronze in Calgary, Canada. In February last year, he captured the gold medal in men's halfpipe at the Harbin Asian Winter Games.

At the Beijing Winter Olympics four years ago, Lee finished 16th in qualifying and failed to reach the finals. This time, after qualifying was delayed one day due to heavy snowfall, he scored 76 points in the first qualifying run to achieve Korea's first-ever ski halfpipe finals berth, but an unexpected injury prevented him from competing on the finals stage.

Lee was reportedly injured while practicing an 1800-degree (five-rotation) spin technique he had honed specifically for this Olympics.

Moon Hee-sung (Korea National Sport University), who secured an additional Olympic quota and was the last member confirmed for the Korean delegation at this competition, finished 22nd with 35 points in the men's qualifying round and did not advance to the finals.