1. Lee Sang-hwa is a two-time Olympic champion in 500 metres and the 2010 World Sprint champion.
22 Facts About Lee Sang-hwa
1. 2.
Lee Sang-hwa is the current world record holder in women's 500 metres with the time of 36.36 seconds set in Salt Lake City on 16 November 2013, and held the South Korean record on 1000 metres from March 2009 until January 2024.
3.
Lee Sang-hwa has won three World Championships medals in 500 metres, and has placed in the top three in World Cup events four times in this distance.
4.
Lee Sang-hwa was born in 1989 to Lee U-geun, a technician at Hwigyeong Girls' School, and Kim In-sun.
5.
Lee Sang-hwa first competed internationally aged 14 in Canada, where she skated several test races in October 2003, winning comfortably and skating with a best time of 39.02 seconds.
6.
Lee Sang-hwa placed eighth in her first race, recording 38.71 in the M-Wave, Nagano, 0.29 seconds behind winner Wang Manli.
7.
Lee Sang-hwa finished in the top ten a further five times that season, including two fourth-place finishes in 100 metre sprints, which gave her fifth place overall in the 100 metre World Cup.
8.
In 2006, Lee Sang-hwa improved on the 100 and 500 metres, though she fell into the B division on the 1000 metres.
9.
Lee Sang-hwa finished on the World Cup podium four times during the season, including a win in the 100 metre World Cup final, though she finished behind Jenny Wolf in the overall standings.
10.
Lee Sang-hwa added three senior Korean titles to her record, winning the 500 metres, 1000 metres, and overall sprint championship.
11.
Lee Sang-hwa failed to improve on her 1000-metre time from last season, however.
12.
Lee Sang-hwa is yet to finish outside the top two, and after three of 12 races she heads the overall standings on the 500 metres.
13.
Lee Sang-hwa has improved on the 1000 metres, and became 11th in the overall standings, with eighth place in Heerenveen.
14.
At the 2010 Winter Olympics, Lee Sang-hwa won her first Olympic gold medal in the women's 500 m becoming the first Asian woman ever to do so.
15.
Lee Sang-hwa raced against Germany's Jenny Wolf, the world-record holder at the time, in both of her races.
16.
Lee Sang-hwa's second run set the Olympic record of 37.28 seconds, giving her an aggregate time of 74.70 seconds.
17.
Lee Sang-hwa became the first woman since Catriona Le May Doan at the 2002 Olympics to defend the gold at the event and just the third woman ever to win back-to-back Olympic gold in the 500 metres, and the first Asian woman ever to do so.
18.
Lee Sang-hwa competed in her fourth Winter Olympics at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, and won the silver, her third Olympic medal, in front of her home crowd.
19.
Lee Sang-hwa was defeated by Japan's Nao Kodaira who was the other favourite coming into the event.
20.
At a press conference on 16 May 2019, Lee Sang-hwa officially announced she would retire from speed skating.
21.
In February 2022, Lee Sang-hwa made her sports commentary debut at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
22.
On 16 March 2019, Lee Sang-hwa's agency confirmed that she and singer Kangnam were dating.