⛸️ Choi Min-jeong's Last Dance Confirmed for Seoul! & Kim Gil-li Hits the Jackpot 💸 - 2026.04.30 | Short Track

Hello, fans! It's your favorite ice track speedster! ⛸️💨

It's already the first day of May 2026! Have you made plans for the holidays? This week, our short track world is full of dynamic news, as thrilling as an overtaking maneuver! Let's sprint the outside lane and dive right into the hot issues that heated up the ice! 🚀

🇰🇷 Watch Live at Home! Choi Min-jeong's Last Dance

Let's start with news as exciting as an outside pass! It's official: Seoul will host international competitions twice in the 2026-2027 season ^[1]! The 3rd event of the ISU World Tour will be held in Seoul from November 20 to 22, and the World Championships will also take place here next March ^[1].

Especially, this season will be the final run for the 'Short Track GOAT' Choi Min-jeong as a national team member ^[1]. Can you imagine watching the spectacular last dance of Choi Min-jeong, who announced her Olympic retirement, live in Korea? A fierce ticketing war is already expected! 🔥

👑 Sweeping KSU MVP! 'Lamborgilli' Sprints Ahead

Our 'Lamborgilli' Kim Gil-li's sprint didn't stop even at the award ceremonies! At the 'K-Skating Day' held on April 26, Kim Gil-li secured the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for the 2025-2026 season ^[4]. With two gold medals at the Milano Olympics and two more at the World Championships, it was truly a perfect season ^[2]!

Moreover, Sambo Motors generously provided 1 billion won in special prize money to the national ice skating team. Kim Gil-li received a whopping 210 million won, and Choi Min-jeong received 110 million won ^[3]. Talk about hitting the jackpot! 💸

In addition, at the '2026 Brand Customer Loyalty Awards' on April 30, both Choi Min-jeong and Kim Gil-li were honored in the 'Most Influential Person' category, perfectly proving their massive public popularity . The photo of Kim Gil-li jumping with joy at the Milano Olympics 1500m podium even won the Grand Prize at the Photo Journalist of the Month Awards ! She is definitely the star of the moment. Make sure to check out her Cosmopolitan photoshoot too ^[9]!

🔄 A Pause, and Toward New Challenges

After a stormy sprint, sometimes you need to catch your breath. Hwang Dae-heon announced that he will not participate in the 2026-2027 season national team selection trials due to physical and mental exhaustion ^[5]. We won't see him at the World Tour or World Championships for a while, but let's cheer for him to rest well and return stronger!

World No. 1 Park Ji-won, who swallowed his disappointment after missing out on the Milano Olympics, has returned to the starting line aiming for the 2030 Alps Winter Olympics ^[6]. Recovering from a leg injury, he started a long-term project with a new training method. Let's applaud his unbreakable spirit ^[6]! 👏

Lee Yu-bin, who also missed out on Milano, shared a pleasant update of spending a romantic 26th birthday in Italy to blow off stress, and is training hard while looking forward to the next Olympics ^[7].

👏 Heartwarming Sportsmanship on Ice & Familiar Faces

Lastly, some heartwarming news! Recently, during the men's 1000m Final B, there was a dangerous moment, but in a split second, Nadalini chose to push his competitor to prevent a severe crash instead of going for the win ^[10]. It was true sportsmanship that deeply moved fans worldwide!

Also, former national team member Kwak Yoon-gy shared great insights on 'living like oneself' as a speaker at the '6th Sports Sejong Forum' on April 30 ^[8]. The players shining brightly even off the ice are just so cool, right? ✨

I'll speed up next week and bring you more fun and packed news! Everyone take care of your health, and the sprint on the ice continues! Bye~ 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️