Personal information | |
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Born | Seoul, South Korea | 25 February 1989
Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) |
Weight | 62 kg (137 lb) |
Spouse | |
Sport | |
Country | South Korea |
Sport | Speed skating |
Team | Seoul Metropolitan Government |
Retired | 2019 |
Medal record |
Lee Sang-hwa | |
Hangul | 이상화 |
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Hanja | 李相花 |
Revised Romanization | I Sang-hwa |
McCune–Reischauer | Ri Sang-hwa |
Lee Sang-hwa (Korean: 이상화; Hanja: 李相花, Korean pronunciation: [i.saŋ.ɦwa]; born 25 February 1989) is a South Korean retired speed skater who specialises in the sprint distances. She is a two-time Olympic champion in 500 metres (2010 and 2014) and the 2010 World Sprint champion. She is the current world record holder in women's 500 metres with the time of 36.36 seconds set in Salt Lake City on 16 November 2013,[1] and held the South Korean record on 1000 metres from March 2009 until January 2024.[2]
She has also won three World Championships medals in 500 metres, and has placed in the top three in World Cup events four times in this distance. Her first World Cup victory, however, came on the non-Olympic distance 100 metres. On the 1000 metres, however, she has never placed higher than fifth in international events (2010 World Sprint Championships, first 1000 metres).