▲ Lee Sang-hwa and Kodaira Nao at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics
Lee Sang-hwa (33), who is commenting at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, could not hide her tears in the unfortunate race of former competitor Nao Kodaira (36, Japan).
Kodaira, a gold medalist at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and one of Lee Sang-hwa's rivals, finished with poor results in the women's 500m speed skating event held at the National Speed Skating Stadium in Beijing, China on the 13th local time.
Godaira ran well in her early race, but the power ran out in the middle, and she finished the race in 38.09, where she finished 17th with her disappointing finish.
Lee Sang-hwa, who was commenting on the unexpected result of Godaira, who challenged her to win her second consecutive championship in this event, was unable to hide her feelings and forgot what to say for a moment in tears.
Lee Sang-hwa and Godai, who represent Korea-Japan speed skating, are rivals who fought fiercely and are friends who supported and comforted each other.
▲ Lee Sang-hwa and Kodaira Nao at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics
After the match, in the joint coverage area, Kodaira mixed Korean, English, and Japanese, saying, "Where is Sanghwa?" and "How are you? I missed you."
Godaira, who always gave up first place to Lee Sang-hwa, rose to the top by winning the first gold medal in her life at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. There is a bar.
This scene was considered one of the best scenes of the Pyeongchang Olympics and warmed the hearts of Korean and Japanese sports fans, and they called each other out at the Beijing Winter Olympics four years later and showed 'friendship without borders'.
Lee Sang-hwa said, "It was difficult to watch because it was Godaira's race that I had never seen before." He said, "I met Godaira before the competition, and he said to me, 'I want to win the Olympics once again,' and gave me courage to say, 'Once a champion is an eternal champion'. I'm sorry," he said.
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(Photo = Yonhap News)