UPDATE: I don’t know if people are happier that Korea got a gold medal or that Ohno lost:
Articles on online editions of major dailies followed the same line as the TV networks.
“The final race was Korea’s celebration party,” the usually staid Maeil Business Newspaper wrote.
South Koreans in the world’s most wired country also showed their joy over the Internet.
“The race without Ohno showed what clean play is all about,” one South Korean wrote on a message board on the popular Internet portal Naver.
“There was no Hollywood ending for Ohno in Turin,” read a separate commentary.
I still find it interesting that Koreans hate Ohno so much when in 2002 it wasn’t his fault the referee made the call that disqualified the Korean skater. Ohno just benefited from the call. I don’t know enough about skating to say if the call was right or not, but bottom line it wasn’t Ohno’s fault but yet he is demonized and not the referee who wasn’t an American. Yet Ohno is demonized in the media and the Korean media is an orgy of joy after his fall. Why can’t the media just celebrate the fact the Korean skaters skated well and won instead of celebrating more, the fact that Ohno lost?
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Maybe Ohno can come to South Korea without death threats for now on, after losing the 1500 meter short track speed skating event:
South Korea’s Ahn Hyun-Soo won the men’s 1,500m short-track Winter Olympics speedskating gold medal while defending champion Apolo Anton Ohno blew his chances with a semi-final stumble.
Three-time world 1,500m champion Ahn finally captured gold after he had been disqualified in the 1,500m semi-finals at the 2002 Olympics and was leading in the 2002 1,000m final when he was caught in a four-man crash and placed fourth.
Ahn won in 2 minutes, 25.341 seconds with 19-year-old compatriot Lee Ho-Suk second in 2:25.600 and China’s Li Jiajun third in 2:26.005, taking his fifth Olympic medal but still unable to grab a gold.
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