Shim Suk-hee

Shim Suk-hee (Hangul: 심석희; ; born 30 January 1997) is a South Korean short track speed skater.

Shim's first major international competition was the 2011 World Junior Championships.

Her breakout moment was at the inaugural 2012 Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, where she won gold in 500m and 1000m.

She also won a bronze medal in the 3000m mixed-country/gender relay as a member of the mixed team made up of skaters representing different nations.

Shim continued her success at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Melbourne, where she finished first overall after winning gold in 500m, 1000m, and 1500m Superfinal.

She also won gold in the relay with her teammates.

In the 1000m semi-finals, Shim broke the world junior record previously set by Byun Chun-sa of South Korea in 2003, only to set a new world record in the 1000m finals.

At the young age of 15, Shim was selected as a member of the South Korean national team.

She made her World Cup debut and won her first World Cup medal during the 2012–2013 season in Calgary.

At the following World Cup competition in Salt Lake City, Shim set a new 1000m world record with a time of 1:26:661, which was almost a second faster than the previous world record (1:27.653) set by Valérie Maltais two days ago.

Her world record still stands to this day.

Shim continued her successful World Cup run for the rest of the 2012–2013 season and finished first in the overall World Cup standings.

By this time, Shim has added a gold medal at twelve consecutive World Cups since 2012.

Shim competed at the 2013 World Championships, where she won the 3000m Superfinal.

She finished third overall behind Wang Meng and Park Seung-hi after winning 1500m silver.

At the first race of the 2013–2014 World Cup in Shanghai, Shim won both the 1000 metres and 1500 metres.

Shim won gold in the 1000 metres and silver in the 1500 metres at the second race in Seoul, South Korea.

Her wins on home soil began to garner considerable media attention and put her into the national spotlight.

At the third race of the 2013–2014 World Cup in Turin, Shim won both the 1000 metres and 1500 metres again.

After winning gold in the 1500 metres and bronze in the 500 metres at the last race in Kolomna, Shim clinched her second straight overall World Cup title.

She ended the competition with 102 overall points, followed by Park Seung-hi and Valerie Maltais, with 73 and 39 points, respectively.

She also became the 1000 meters and 1500 meters champion for the 2013–14 World Cup season.

She is a two-time Olympic Champion (2014, 2018) and a World Champion (2014).

At the age of 6, Shim started short track speed skating in her hometown Gangneung as a hobby with her older brother's influence.

Her talent was obvious from her time since elementary school and led Shim's parents to fully support her short track career.

Shim spent rest of her elementary school years in Seoul and joined the Junior National Team upon entering middle school.

From 14–16 March 2014, Shim competed at the 2014 World Championships held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, winning her first overall title with 102 points, placing first place in the 1000 metres, 1500 metres and 3000 metres.

She defeated South Korean Park Seung-hi, silver medalist and Canadian Valérie Maltais who finished third in points.

Park Seung-hi won the 500m and placed second in 1000m.

Maltais placed second on 3000m relay and third in 1000m.

Shim went into her first Winter Olympics in Sochi with the declared aim of winning multiple gold medals.

On 13 February 2014, she first competed in the 500 metres but surprisingly failed to advance out of the quarterfinals placing fourth in her heat.

Experts believed her lack of experience under such pressure has hindered Shim from performing at her best.

Two days later, Shim won silver in the 1500 metres.

Shim started the 1500 m final race at the back of the pack.

Then she first made a move with 10 laps to go, charging out to first place with Arianna Fontana right behind her.

After Kim A-lang and Li Jianrou got tangled up midway through, Shim was comfortably in the lead.

Shim stayed in first place until the final stretch, but Zhou Yang, the reigning Olympic 1500 m champion, zipped past Shim with two laps to go and did not relinquish the lead.

On 18 February, Shim claimed gold in the 3000 metre relay as part of the South Korean relay team.

With three laps to go in the final race, South Korea trailed China by a substantial margin and seemed headed toward an inevitable second place.