South Korean skeleton slider Yun Sung-bin said Wednesday he wants to be honored frequently in the future as he feels surreal at being in the awards ceremony.
Yun was named top rookie athlete at the annual Coca-Cola Sports Awards, which has been honoring amateur athletes in the country since 1995, along with figure skating prodigy You Young. Considering that skeleton has been an almost unknown sport to the public, he was also surprised that he would be a recipient at the awards ceremony.
“I hope to feature in these kind of good events every year,” Yun said. “I never imagined I would win the award.”
The 21-year-old slider ended his 2015-2016 International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation season as the world’s No. 2, after winning one gold, three silver and two bronze medals from eight World Cup races. He also won a silver medal at the world championships last month, becoming the first Asian to reach the world podium in this sport.
Despite a strong season, Yun said he still needs to develop his skills.
“I think time will solve my driving skills,” he said. “But for the start, I realized through this season that I can improve it more.”
Yun, who picked up skeleton about three years ago, was the only slider to top world No. 1 Martins Dukurs last season. The 31-year-old Latvian won seven out of eight World Cup races with his only defeat occurring on February in St. Moritz, Switzerland. In the IBSF world rankings, Dukurs ended the season with 1,800 points, 143 better than Yun.
“My ultimate goal is to beat that slider (Dukurs),” Yun said. “But before talking about my plans to do so, I think my mindset should be ready first.”
After travelling to Europe and North America to complete his World Cup season, Yun returned home on March 1. The Korea National Sport University student said he is happy to be back in South Korea, but that doesn’t mean he completely rested in recent weeks.
“I want to also focus on my studies, but there were so many things to do besides that,” he said. “Since the national team selection competition is nearby, I’m keeping my physical conditions sharp.”
Yun said just like any other athlete he is also determined to win at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games and he wants to play his game as a gold medal contender.
“At the Olympics, I don’t want to yield a medal to someone,” he said. “Although we have to see the result, I want to compete as a gold medal candidate.” (Yonhap)
