Team Korea in preparation: “In October we want to start training on ice in PyengChang!”

Seoul (FIL) South Korea is often referred to as the Corona model country. Due to its geographical and economic proximity to China, the East Asian industrialized country was affected by the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus early on. The Republic of Korea, in the southern part of the Korean peninsula, always stayed a few weeks ahead of the states in Europe and was able to keep the virus danger quite well under control by technical detection of possible infected persons. At present, the daily new infections are in the middle double-digit range. In total, the authorities in South Korea reported around 14,000 infected persons and almost 300 deaths, out of a population of almost 52 million.

Oleg Demchenko (RUS) is the head coach of the Korean luge team. He speaks of major adjustments and rescheduling in the preparation for the 2020/21 winter season due to COVID-19: “After the World Cup final in Koenigssee, on March 1, 2020, we had planned a training camp at the Pyeonghang Sports Center in South Korea. After the competition I went home to Russia for the first time. The athletes will follow home to South Korea. We have not given up hope that we will be able to hold the planned training camp in March 2020 after all. But COVID-19 thwarted our plans and we had to change our plans.”

So far, the preparations for the upcoming, pre-Olympic season have been difficult for Team Korea, just like in the other countries. Oleg Demchenko continues: “I have not been able to meet the team in person. In March I was still full of hope. Then in May all the borders were closed and this has remained so until today. The most difficult thing in this situation is that the team had to completely change the preparation plan for the summer. We cancelled three training camps in Russia.”

Korean luge start competition 2020

The sports centers in South Korea were also closed. The athletes started individual training in May. In July, the team then held a start competition on the home starting grid, with all safety precautions against the coronavirus.

The Korean head coach further reports: “Currently the team is training at home, under the direction of national coach Joo Se Kee. Communication with the federation and the athletes is exclusively by e-mail. We all hoped that I would be able to fly to our team in August and we will train together again, but the borders are still closed. Now we plan to start training on the ice at home in South Korea in October 2020, on our track in PyengChang. At the moment I am preparing the sleds for the winter season. We have to be 100% ready for new successes. That's what we work hard for.”