Silver Medal in spite of Broken Knee

SIERRA NEVADA – He was the only Korean to compete in the Halfpipe event. He was the youngest athlete competing. And he has a broken knee.

Kwang-Jin Kim knows a lot about dedication and he proved that when he won the silver medal on 11 February.

“I had a crash last month,” said Kim, the 19-year-old. “So I’ve broken the side of my knee. It’s tough.”

But the Physical Education student from Dankook University in Gyeonggi, wouldn’t let a broken bone get in the way of him competing, even if it was a hard thing to do.

“[My knee] is so bad,” he said after the flower ceremony in Sierra Nevada at the Sulayr Snowpark. “Everyday I need medicine and everyday I go to the medical centre.”

But he says it was all worth it now.

“It’s very awesome [to win the medal],” Kim said with a smile. “Everybody thank you so much. Every coach, every person, thank you.”

And now Kim is looking forward to two months of rest to heal his knee before jumping back into skiing competitions.

Kim ended with a score of 71.60, beating out bronze medalist Russia’s Pavel Chupa who scored a 70.

The gold medal was awarded to John Leonard from the USA with a score of 86.40 in the end.

Kelcey Wright, U-Media Reporter