South Korean speed skating star Shim Suk-hee has been suspended for two months over expletive-laden texts about her teammates, leaving her par-ticipation at the Beijing Winter Games hanging by a thread.
Shim, 24, is one of South Korea’s most success-ful skaters with four Olympics short-track medals, including relay golds at the 2014 and 2018 Games.
Her two-month suspension, announced Tuesday, was the latest in a series of scandals to emerge after the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics in South Korea.
A disciplinary committee of the Korea Skating Union concluded Shim caused “social trouble” and “tarnished the dignity” of other athletes after inves-tigating texts she sent to one of her coach during the Games.
The only way Shim can now compete at the 2022 Games, which begin on February 4 in Beijing, is to get a court injunction against the suspension or lodge a successful appeal with the South Korean Olympic committee.
Her texts were first reported by local media in October, sparking an outcry. In the denigrating mes-sages, Shim had also suggested tripping her team-mate Choi Min-jeong if they competed in the same race at Pyeongchang.—APP
