Chinese skater pins down favorite memory of Youth Games

A hand-written letter

On Jan 21, Zhang claimed gold in the men's 1,000m short-track final. When he passed by the Athletes365 House after his competition, Lim was waiting to congratulate him. She also gave Zhang a hand-written letter.

"The letter was neatly written in Chinese. I didn't expect such a gift at all, so I was deeply moved," said Zhang.

Lim studied Chinese language briefly during her high school days. Despite that previous learning experience, she admitted, she had to resort to a translation app while composing the letter, and that it took her a while to finish.

"Hopefully we can meet again at the next Winter Olympics," Lim wrote in the letter. "I will always be supporting you, even if we can't see each other."

Lim was a senior high school student when South Korea hosted the Winter Olympics in 2018. Ever since she has harbored dreams of becoming a volunteer for the Olympics. Six years on, her dream came true.

During the Gangwon 2024 YOG, Lim was working as physical therapist. "I've learned a lot from these YOG athletes. It will help me in my future career development," she said.

Zhang and Lim have followed each other on Instagram, making it easy to keep in touch after the Youth Olympic Games.

"For me, the YOG gave me joy when I made the podium, but I found the same amount of joy meeting new friends. I will keep those memories forever," said Zhang.

Xinhua