South Korean Olympic skeleton medal hopeful Jung Seung-gi earned bronze in the men's skeleton at the second IBSF World Cup of the season in Lillehammer, Norway. It marks his first World Cup podium finish in nearly two years following injury recovery. Britain's Matt Weston took gold, while Germany's Axel Jungk claimed silver.
South Korean Olympic skeleton medal hopeful Jung Seung-gi earned his first World Cup podium finish in nearly two years on Friday in Norway, claiming bronze in the men's skeleton at the second International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup of the season in Lillehammer with a combined time of 1:42.66 after two runs.
Britain's Matt Weston won gold in 1:42.58, holding off Germany's Axel Jungk who took silver in 1:42.63. In the first run, Jung posted the second-fastest time of 51.25 seconds, trailing only Weston's 51.14, while Jungk was fifth at 51.28. Jungk led the second run with 51.35 seconds, followed by Jung's 51.41 and Weston's 51.44—the fifth-best in that heat.
This marks Jung's first World Cup medal since bronze in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in January 2024; he also won bronze at the 2023 world championships. The 26-year-old secured eight World Cup medals from the 2021-22 to 2023-24 seasons but missed nearly the entire 2024-25 campaign due to a lower back injury.
"I am really proud of myself for standing on the podium after overcoming a tough injury rehab," Jung said in a statement from his Seoul-based agency, All That Sports. "My starts weren't as great as I wanted in this competition, but I was able to accelerate pretty well and maintain my speed through the finish line. I will try to get quicker starts in upcoming races and make sure I will stay healthy for the upcoming Olympics."
In February, Jung aims to become only the second South Korean skeleton athlete to win Olympic gold, following 2018 champion Yun Sung-bin. He finished fifth at the season's first World Cup last month in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, where Weston also won. The second event, originally set for Innsbruck, Austria, in late November, was canceled due to inadequate track preparation and rescheduled for Sigulda, Latvia, next week.
