Sarah Murray, coach of the unified women’s ice hockey team, and the team itself that embodied the ’Peace Olympics’ has a chat with big smiles on their faces during the Olympic Team Night for the Korean national athletes at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, held at Team Korea House at the Gangneung Olympic Park, Gangwon-do, on Feb. 24.
By Korea.net PyeongChang Olympics Team
Photos = Jeon Han
Gangneung | Feb. 24, 2018
“Still one team.”
It’s a point that coach Sarah Murray, who led the unified women’s ice hockey team at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, wants to really emphasize.
Coach Murray met with Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jongwhan and they talked about the experiences she had while preparing for the Olympics and while playing the matches with her joint team. They were speaking during the Olympic Team Night that took place at Team Korea House at the Gangneung Olympic Park, Gangwon-do, on Feb. 24.
“All the people in South Korea respect the leadership that Coach Murray showed in the matches,” said Minister Do. “It’s an honor for me,” replied Murray.
“I already talked to the players about the Beijing Winter Olympics,” she answered with a big smile in response to his request to continue as the national coach. She asked him to help form a base to cultivate young players for the women’s ice hockey team in the future.
“I wanted to achieve the best results possible in a short amount of time, but I felt sorry for the results,” she said. “I really felt the unity of South and North Korea during the games, in person,” said athlete Jo Su-sie who played with her North Korean counterparts.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jongwhan (left) and Sarah Murray, coach of the unified women’s ice hockey team, talk with smiles during the Olympic Team Night at Team Korea House on Feb. 24.
The athletes who met at Team Korea House expressed their relieved feelings and a sense of frustration, regardless of the events.
Korean figure skater Cha Jun-hwan said, “It was meaningful as I was the youngest participant in the men’s figure skating at these Winter Games and it was meaningful as it was the Olympics held in Korea, as well. The feelings I can feel from these Winter Games end here, but I will grow more for the Beijing Winter Olympics,” expressing his aspirations for 2022.
Lim Hyo-jun, the men’s 1,500 m short track champion, said, “I got off to a good start, but I was disappointed that I couldn’t get the medal I expected from the men’s 5,000 m relay. However, all the encouragement and support I received from the people was really comforting. I’ll be sure to fill the gap at the Beijing Winter Olympics in both the individual and the relay.”
Short track coach Byun Woo-ok said, “Women’s short track athletes had good scores, but there was a gap in the final. We’ll prepare even harder for the world championships, to be held in Montreal on March 16, and we’ll get even better scores at the Beijing Winter Olympics.”
German-born Korean luger Aileen Frish said, “I was happy that I was cheered on by a passionate fan base, compared to the test event a year ago. I haven’t set a specific goal yet, but I plan to concentrate on studying my Korean first.“
Two representative athletes pose for a commemorative photo with Team Korea House Manager Park Jong Kil (center) during the Olympic Team Night for the Korean national team at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, held at Team Korea House in Gangwon-do on Feb. 24. From left are short track speed skater Choi Min-jeong, Manager Park, and skeleton athlete Yun Sungbin.
kyd1991@korea.kr
