Six years after one of the most iconic moments of recent Olympic history, Lee Sang-hwa, two-time speed skating Olympic champion of the Republic of Korea and Kodaira Nao, Japanese speed skating gold medalist of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics reunited at Gangneung Oval. The venue is the same arena where the two competed together in 2018. After winning silver in the women’s 500m speed skating in 2018, Lee burst into tears, and her longtime friend and rival Kodaira embraced her while the two circled the rink with their national flags during the victory lap. The moment they shared in 2018 is a great example of how the Olympics unites people and Kodaira had a message for the athletes at Gangwon 2024.
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