"The eldest member of the South Korean delegation" Kim Sang-gyeom (37, High1) became the winner of Korea's first medal at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics. He won a precious silver medal and enjoyed the joy of his first Olympic medal.
Kim Sang-gyeom lost to Benjamin Karl (Austria) by 0.19 seconds in the final of the snowboard parallel giant slalom at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics held on the 8th (Korea time) at Livigno Snow Park in Sondrio province, Italy, and finished in second place overall.
Riding the blue course, Kim Sang-gyeom showed a good start and passed the first timing section 0.17 seconds faster. However, a regrettable slip followed, leaving him trailing Karl.
Kim Sang-gyeom did not give up and accelerated again to succeed in overtaking. But in the final section he allowed Karl to retake the lead and crossed the finish line 0.19 seconds slower. Although everyone applauded the feat, Kim Sang-gyeom could not smile brightly, seemingly disappointed. Karl, who boasts a 2010 Vancouver silver medal, a 2014 Sochi bronze medal, and a 2022 Beijing gold medal, was once again the world's strongest.
Even so, no one can deny that this result exceeded expectations. Kim Sang-gyeom had never stood on the podium at world championships or in three previous Olympics, but he finally managed to pull it off on his fourth Olympic attempt.
This tournament was full of upsets for Kim Sang-gyeom. He faced elimination after placing 18th in the first qualifying run but improved his ranking in the second qualifying run. With a combined time of 1:27.18 from the first and second runs, he placed eighth and advanced to the final tournament.
He even had luck on his side in the round of 16. Kim Sang-gyeom raced against Zan Kosir of Slovenia in heat 3 of the round of 16. During the race Kosir fell, and Kim Sang-gyeom, who crossed the finish line in 43.05 seconds, became the one to advance to the quarterfinals.
Fortune smiled on Kim Sang-gyeom again in the quarterfinals. Ronald Pischnauler (Italy) was a strong competitor who advanced to the finals after posting a combined qualifying time of 1:25.13. However, Pischnauler faltered and withdrew from the race, and Kim Sang-gyeom, who crossed the finish line in 43.24 seconds, became the one to advance to the semifinals. Even the commentators called it "upset after upset," such a pleasant reversal.
And Kim Sang-gyeom won in the semifinals, securing his first Olympic medal. Riding the blue course again, he defeated Tervel Zampirov (Bulgaria) to reach the final. He was somewhat behind early on but accelerated in the middle section to overtake and crossed the finish line first. His final time was 43.37 seconds. Zampirov slipped slightly at the end and finished 0.23 seconds slower.
Although he narrowly lost in the final, Kim Sang-gyeom won his first Olympic medal in his life. Before this tournament, his best result had been 15th place at the 2018 Beijing Games.
Kim Sang-gyeom's silver medal is the second medal in Korea's alpine winter sports history since Lee Sang-ho won a silver at the 2018 PyeongChang Games.
Kim Sang-gyeom also left the meaningful record of becoming the winner of Korea's 400th Olympic medal across both winter and summer games. To date Korea has won 320 medals at the Summer Olympics (109 gold, 100 silver, 111 bronze) and 79 medals at the Winter Olympics (33 gold, 30 silver, 16 bronze). With Kim Sang-gyeom adding one more, the total reached 400.
It is also Korea's first medal at this tournament. Korea had not yet harvested a medal on Italian soil. With the delegation's eldest member Kim Sang-gyeom first to reach the podium, he kicked off the medal race.
Meanwhile, Lee Sang-ho (31, Nexen Wingard), nicknamed the "cabbage boy," was eliminated in the round of 16. He lost the round-of-16 final by 0.17 seconds to Andreas Prommegger (Austria), failing to advance to the quarterfinals.
Earlier, Lee Sang-ho posted 43.21 seconds on the blue course in the first qualifying run and 43.53 seconds on the red course in the second qualifying run, recording a combined time of 1:26.74 to place sixth. With the top 16 advancing to the finals, it was an easy qualifying. The veteran Prommegger, competing in his sixth Olympic Games, posted 1:27.40 and advanced from qualifying in 11th place overall.
But Lee Sang-ho unexpectedly was eliminated in the round of 16 after being caught by the 1980-born Prommegger. He, who was trailing early, seemed to stabilize his ride in the middle and looked like he might come back, but he fell behind in the final speed section and crossed the finish line 0.17 seconds slower. Lee Sang-ho, whose dream of winning a medal after eight years was crushed, could not hide his despondent expression.
Lee Sang-ho is the first winner of an Olympic medal in Korea's alpine winter sports. He won a silver medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Games. Four years later in Beijing he topped the qualifying but lost by 0.01 seconds to Big Wild (36, Russian Olympic Committee) and stopped in the quarterfinals. He aimed for a medal again at this tournament but unfortunately did not achieve it. However, the eldest member Kim Sang-gyeom relieved that disappointment.
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