By Kim Boram
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- With the Winter Olympics scheduled to kick off in less than three weeks in the Canadian city of Vancouver, South Korea, which is bidding to host the winter games 2018, is setting its sights on a top-10 finish and at least six gold medals.
"At the Vancouver Olympics, we set the goal of winning at least six golds for a 10th-place finish in the medal tally," said Kim Jong-deok, head of administrative affairs at the national training center.
The games are scheduled to be held from Feb. 12-28.
South Korea ranked seventh in the medal standing at the 2006 Turin Winter Games, with a record six golds, three silvers and two bronzes, its biggest haul since the country won its first Olympic medals at the Albertville Winter Olympics in 1992.
The South Korean team is trying to enhance its medal standing as well as improve its sports diplomacy, as Vancouver may affect its bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. PyeongChang, a mountain resort city located some 180km east of Seoul, has already lost to Canada's Vancouver and Russia's Sochi in its two previous attempts.
So far, South Korea has made four top-10 finishes at five previous Olympic Games, thanks to gold medal rushes led by the short track speed skating teams.
The short track squad has brought home 29 medals, including 17 golds out of 31 overall medals South Korea has earned on the Olympic stage. It swept all 11 short track medals at the Turin Winter Olympics four years ago, lifting South Korea to seventh.
The 10 short track skaters on the national squad are hoping to repeat the feat in Vancouver, but are expected to face keen competition from other countries, including China. With three-time gold medalists Ahn Hyun-soo and Jin Sun-yu out due to injuries, they are aiming at three golds in Vancouver to maintain their status as the country's biggest gold medal provider.
In addition to the short track speed skaters, athletes playing other sports are expected to participate in the medal race at the upcoming Olympics.
After winning the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships and the World Championships in early 2009, she opened the 2009-2010 season with record-breaking performances in the Grand Prix series.
Her overall score of 210.03 set at the Trophee Eric Bompard in October is far higher than her competitors' season bests, including Japanese Miki Ando's score of 185.94.
Kim is expected to break the decades-old gold medal drought in South Korea's figure skating, one of the most popular sports at the Winter Olympics.
Meanwhile, speed skaters are also determined to stand on the top of the podium next month.
South Korea's squad is varied compared to previous Winter Games, with a total of 45 South Korean players competing in alpine skiing, cross country, ski jumping, free style skiing, snow board, biathlon, bobsled, and skeleton, as well as speed skating, short track speed skating, and figure skating.
With the traditional Lunar New Year holiday coinciding with the opening weekend of the Winter Olympics, South Koreans are sure to be lured to their televisions with a sense of excitement and anticipation.
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