3 years from Korean traitor to Chinese champion, Lin Hyo-chan wants to find that "stolen life"

The moment Lin Xiaocheng stood on the ice rink again, he had already succeeded.

The pride of South Korea who left because of the "pants door"

Lim Hyo-chan was once a national treasure athlete in South Korea and the pride of South Korea.

Born in 1996, his first sport was swimming. In the second grade of primary school, he suffered a ruptured eardrum due to an accident and had to switch to short track speed skating, and since then he has shown great talent. In 2012, when he was not yet 16 years old, he rose to fame and won the men's 1,000m short track speed skating title at that year's Youth Olympic Games.

In the 2017 Korean short track speed skating national team trials, he ranked first overall and deservedly selected for the national team.

At the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, he represented South Korea and won the gold medal in the men's 1500m and the bronze medal in the 500m; In 2019, he won several gold medals at the World Championships, including the men's 1000m, 1500m and relay events.

But Lin Xiaocheng's originally smooth life has undergone major changes, that is, the "pants picking" incident known to many people.

In June 2019, during the training of the Korean short track speed skating team in Jincheon Athletes' Village, Chungcheongbuk-do, because he was uncomfortable with teammate Hwang Dae-heon harassing female team members, Lim Hyo-han stepped forward to stop him and accidentally ripped off his pants, causing his body parts to be exposed, and there were female athletes present. Afterwards, the Korea Ice Federation imposed a one-year ban on Lim in August. Wong also took him to court on charges of "sexual harassment."

Since May 2020, the Seoul Central District Court has held two trials against "pants-picking." The first instance found Lin Hyo-chan guilty of sexual harassment and ordered him to pay 3 million won and receive 40 hours of psychological treatment for sexual violence. In the second trial held at the end of the year, the court acquitted Lin Xiaocheng.

Although he was eventually innocent, Lin Xiaocheng lost his position as the main player of the national team due to a long ban and lack of field training.

Naturalization in China, just to stand on the ice rink again

For Lin Xiaocheng, this period of time was difficult.

He came to China as a sparring partner through South Korean short track speed skating coach Kim Sun-tae and senior Ahn Hyun-so.

On March 6, 2021, the brokerage company issued a statement saying that Lin Xiaocheng decided to become a Chinese national: "This is the final decision of a young ice athlete to stand on the ice again in order to have no regrets." When the news came out, many South Koreans became angry and called him a "Korean traitor."

Two months later, the brokerage company received an invitation from the China Ice Association to carry out a special naturalization procedure. On October 19, in the group photo of the Chinese short track speed skating team, Lin Xiaocheng appeared - he officially became a member of the Chinese short track speed skating. But after that, he did not represent China in the World Cup.

Before the Beijing Winter Olympics, he participated in the Olympic short track speed skating trials, which was his first official appearance after changing his nationality. He was in mediocre form for Hebei, failing to reach the final of Group A in both the 500m and 1500m. According to the rules, naturalized athletes need to wait three years before they can represent their new country at the Olympics, after which he has not been able to represent China at the Winter Olympics.

On February 9, 2022, in the men's 1500m short track speed skating final of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Huang Daxian won the first gold medal for South Korea with a time of 2:09.219, and China's Ren Ziwei was ruled to be fouled in the semifinals and missed the final. After the game, Lin Xiaocheng posted on social media: "Wait for me! Wait for me to come back! I want to fight alongside you! He also posted a photo of himself at the Forbidden City and gold skates embroidered with his Hanyu Pinyin name.

From retiring to winning the championship, he was reborn in Dresden

In the 2022-23 season, Lin Hsiaocheng finally appeared in the short track speed skating World Cup, but his performance was somewhat disappointing.

In the opening match of Montreal, Canada, Lin Xiaocheng withdrew from the competition due to injury two days ago and failed to gain anything; In the second stop, Salt Lake City, USA, Lin Xiaocheng did not register directly due to a back injury; In the Four Continents Championship, Lin Xiaocheng retired after the first day; At Almaty, he won his first medal for the Chinese team, the mixed 2,000-meter relay. In the individual events, the 500m heats were out, and the 1500m did not qualify for the final. After that, he once again chose to withdraw from the competition...

Seeing such a performance, Korean ice fans were excited, "It's so cool, seeing him withdraw from the competition, happier than the Korean player winning the championship", "I learned an idiom from my Chinese classmates, the river is falling, you can describe his performance." ”

Coming to Dresden, Lin Xiaocheng was finally reborn.

In the 500m semifinals, he beat Almaty's double champions, Nikisha, who finished first in the 500m World Cup standings this season, and won the final, beating Beijing Olympic bronze medallist Du Bois and South Korea's Kim Tae-sung who won the first 500m.

After winning the championship in 41.329 seconds, he roared wildly, hugged his coach and cried - it is worth mentioning that this was also his first gold medal with the Chinese team. Just an hour later, he and his teammates won the 5,000m relay final in 6:51.106.

After an hour of double crowns, the big stone belonging to Lin Xiaocheng's body finally fell, he lamented that this was "the happiest moment in four years", and after more than 1,400 days, he won the gold medal in the international competition.

Reclaiming that "stolen life"

For him, it was really not easy.

It's hard to say how much ridicule and incomprehension he has received in the past four years. If it weren't for that "pants door", he might have won more championships in South Korea, but the goodwill act in his heart inadvertently ruined all this. He can only leave his hometown and start over, to rush back the time he lost before, to retrieve the trophies that have been covered in dust.

But fortunately, although he lost a lot, he also gained more support. When many people see the experience of "picking up the trouser door", they will lament his "stolen life", and he has received more respect. Although the Korean ice fans who feel betrayed are still scolding him, no one will know what Lin Xiaocheng, who was exhausted and unable to train because of the ban lawsuit for more than a year, would think.

In an interview, he was asked, "What do you find the hardest and happiest in your career as a professional athlete?" His answer was succinct, "Wait." Race. ”

Today's championship, for Lin Xiaocheng, is the best gift to insist on. He could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The 2026 Winter Olympics still seem a little far away, but Lin Xiaocheng has already set off - he wants to buy time to find that "stolen life".