Lee Sang-hwa facts for kids

Lee Sang-hwa (Hangul: 이상화; Hanja: 李相花; born 25 February 1989) is a famous South Korean speed skater who was amazing at short-distance races. She is a two-time Olympic champion in the 500-meter speed skating event, winning gold medals in 2010 and 2014. She also became the World Sprint champion in 2010.

Lee Sang-hwa holds the current world record for the women's 500 meters, finishing in an incredible 36.36 seconds. She set this record in Salt Lake City on 16 November 2013. She also held the South Korean record for the 1000 meters for many years.

Quick facts for kids
Lee Sang-hwa

Personal information
Born	(1989-02-25) 25 February 1989 (age 36) Seoul, South Korea
Height	1.65 m
Weight	62 kg
Spouse(s)	Kangnam ​ (m. 2019)​
Sport
Country	South Korea
Sport	Speed skating
Retired	2019
Medal record Olympic Games Gold 2010 Vancouver 500 m Gold 2014 Sochi 500 m Silver 2018 Pyeongchang 500 m World Sprint Championships Gold 2010 Obihiro Women Bronze 2013 Salt Lake City Women World Single Distance Championships Gold 2012 Heerenveen 500 m Gold 2013 Sochi 500 m Gold 2016 Kolomna 500 m Silver 2011 Inzell 500 m Silver 2017 Gangneung 500 m Bronze 2005 Inzell 500 m Bronze 2009 Vancouver 500 m World Junior Championships Bronze 2005 Seinäjoki All Around Winter Universiade Gold 2007 Torino 500 m Gold 2009 Harbin 500 m Bronze 2009 Harbin 100 m Asian Winter Games Silver 2007 Changchun 500 m Bronze 2011 Astana-Almaty 500 m Silver 2017 Sapporo 500 m Bronze 2007 Changchun 100 m

Early Life and Skating Start

Lee Sang-hwa was born in 1989 in Seoul, South Korea. Her father, Lee U-geun, worked as a technician. Her mother is Kim In-sun.

Lee has an older brother, Lee Sang-jun, who also used to skate. He inspired her to start skating when she was in first grade. Even though her brother was good, Lee showed even more natural talent for skating. Since their parents could only afford to support one child's extra activities, Lee continued with skating.

Lee is also close friends with Mo Tae-bum, another speed skater who won a gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. They have known each other since elementary school.

Amazing Skating Career

Lee Sang-hwa started competing internationally when she was just 14 years old. Her first big international competition was the 2004 World Junior Championships. Even as the youngest skater there, she finished third in the 500-meter race.

She quickly became a top skater. In 2005, she won two senior Korean titles. She also earned a bronze medal in the 500-meter competition at the World Single Distance Championships.

In 2006, Lee set a new world junior record for the 500 meters with a time of 37.90 seconds. She also won the 100-meter World Cup final. At the 2006 Turin Olympics, she finished fifth in the 500 meters.

Olympic Gold Medals

Lee's biggest achievements came at the Winter Olympics.

Vancouver 2010 Gold

At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Lee won her first Olympic gold medal in the women's 500 meters. She was the first Asian woman ever to win this event. She raced against Jenny Wolf from Germany, who held the world record at the time. Lee won by a tiny margin, just five hundredths of a second!

Sochi 2014 Gold

On 11 February 2014, Lee won her second Olympic gold medal in the women's 500 meters at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. She set a new Olympic record with a total time of 74.70 seconds. This win meant she successfully defended her title from the 2010 Olympics. She became only the third woman ever, and the first Asian woman, to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the 500 meters.

Pyeongchang 2018 Silver

Lee competed in her fourth Winter Olympics at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in her home country. She won a silver medal, her third Olympic medal overall. She was beaten by Japan's Nao Kodaira, who was also a favorite to win. After her race, Lee was very emotional and cried. Her rival and friend, Kodaira, came over to hug and comfort her. This moment of sportsmanship between them touched many people around the world.

Setting World Records

Lee Sang-hwa was a record-breaker! On 9 November 2013, she broke the world record for the 500 meters in Calgary, Canada, with a time of 36.74 seconds. Just a few days later, on 15 November, she broke her own record again in Salt Lake City, USA, with 36.57 seconds. The very next day, she improved it even more to an amazing 36.36 seconds. This is still the current world record!

Retirement and Commentary

Lee officially announced her retirement from speed skating on 16 May 2019. After retiring, she started a new role. In February 2022, Lee began working as a sports commentator for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Personal Life

On 16 March 2019, it was confirmed that Lee Sang-hwa was dating singer Kangnam. They met while appearing on a TV show called Law of the Jungle. On 29 August 2019, they announced their engagement. The couple got married on 12 October 2019, at a hotel in Seoul.

Lee and Kangnam now live in a building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

Records

Personal Records

World Records

Filmography

Television Shows

See also

In Spanish: Lee Sang-Hwa para niños