South Korea's Kim Yun-ji Earns Paralympic Silver, Ties Single-Event Medal Record

South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung congratulated para-biathlete Kim Yun-ji after she won a silver medal in the women’s biathlon at the Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics, bringing her total Paralympic medals to four.

In a post on social media on Friday, the president called Kim’s performance “an unbelievable achievement” given that it was her first Olympic appearance.

Lee noted that Kim tied the Games’ single-Games record for the most medals won in an individual event, and that, when looking only at individual events, she set a new record for the most medals in a single Games.

The president also said he hopes Kim will deliver her best in the remaining 20-kilometer women’s cross-country interval-start event.

Additionally, Lee offered warm encouragement and applause for the wheelchair curling mixed four-person team, which finished fourth after a closely contested match.

The Milan-Cortina Games are taking place in Italy, hosting the biathlon and other events as part of the Winter Paralympics in this year’s international program.

For U.S. readers, the results underscore South Korea’s rising prominence in elite Paralympic sport, with potential implications for cross-border collaboration in sports technology, adaptive equipment, sponsorship, and broadcasting of Paralympic events.

Context for non-Korean readers: Kim Yun-ji is a leading Korean para-athlete in biathlon, a sport combining cross-country skiing with rifle shooting, contested at the Paralympics alongside other winter sports. The Paralympics are the premier global competition for athletes with disabilities, running concurrently with the Olympics and often shaping disability inclusion policies, technology development, and international sports diplomacy.

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