Lee Ho-suk

Career

Lee Ho-suk built his reputation on a flashy outside passing move that made him stand out among young skaters worldwide. He dominated the junior circuit by claiming the overall World Junior title three years running from 2003 to 2005. Moving up to the senior level in 2006, he placed second in the overall World Cup standings behind Ahn Hyun-Soo. That same year at the Turin Olympics, he took silver in both the 1000m and 1500m, again finishing behind Ahn, and added a relay gold alongside Ahn, Seo Ho-Jin, and Song Suk-Woo by beating two-time defending champion Canada.

In 2009, he captured the overall title at the World Championships in Vienna and then won Korea’s Olympic trials, emerging as the team’s leader and a top gold medal hope for Vancouver 2010. But at those Games, a crash with teammate Sung Si-Bak in the 1500m final knocked both skaters out of medal contention, leading to Lee’s disqualification. He did advance to the 1000m quarterfinals with a time of 1:25.925. After the Olympics, Lee rebounded to win his second straight overall World Championship.