Yun Sung-bin (; born 23 May 1994) is a South Korean skeleton racer. He won the gold medal in men's skeleton at the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

Pyeongchang Pyeongchang ( , ; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seo ...

and was a participant at the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

Early life and education

Born in 1994 in South Korea's southern coastal region of Namhae,

South Gyeongsang Province South Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple tha ...

, Yun grew up knowing nothing about the winter sliding sport. Still, as a child, Yun always enjoyed running around at the beach and excelled in many sports at school, including soccer, badminton, competitive running, and jumping, among others. Yun moved to

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

when he was in middle school and continued playing sports at school, hoping to get into a sports university. In 100-metre races, he would ask to start 10 metres back from others his age and still beat other runners. At 1.78 meter in height, he could grab a basketball rim with ease. While playing basketball in high school, Yun's natural athletic ability was noticed by his physical education teacher, Kim Young-tae, who was also serving as one of the officials at the Korea Bobsleigh Skeleton Federation at the time. Yun attended

Korea National Sport University Korea National Sport University (KNSU) is a South Korean national university located in the neighborhood of Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul. It is the only national sport university of South Korea and offers degrees from undergraduate to doctoral lev ...

, who had recruited him from his teacher's recommendation.

Career

Yun is known for his exceptional agility and athleticism, enabling him to pick things up in the sport quickly. Yun is also famous for his

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

-like helmet, which makes it appear that the Marvel comic hero is flying full-speed ahead when Yun is on the track. Yun started skeleton at the age of 18 in early 2012, and after three-month training, he won the national championship in September 2012. Yun made his international debut in the 2012–13 season, appearing at the North American Cup Tour. Yun first garnered attention in the 2013–14 season when he was ranked fifth overall at the 2013–14 FIBT Intercontinental Cup Tour. He won gold in the sixth round of the tour in Whistler,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

on 5–6 January 2014, becoming the first Korean skeleton slider to finish on top of the podium at an international event. Yun finished his first Olympic competition with a disappointing 16th place in

. Yun, however, flourished in the 2014–15 season under the tutelage of British sled specialist Richard Bromley, a co-founder of Bromley Sports, one of the world's top sled manufacturing companies. Yun recorded his first World Cup podium with a bronze at Calgary in December 2014. In the overall 2014–15 World Cup rankings, Yun finished his rookie season in sixth place with one silver and two bronze. In the 2015–16 season, Yun earned his first World Cup gold medal in the seventh round in

St. Moritz St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...

, along with a silver at the 2016 IBSF World Championships in

Igls Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

, finishing the season's overall World Cup rankings in second place with one gold, three silver, and two bronze. In the 2016–17 season, Yun earned his second World Cup gold medal in the first round in Whistler. He finished the season's overall World Cup rankings in second place with one gold, three silver, and two bronze. Yun won the overall 2017–18 World Cup, becoming the first Asian athlete to ever win the overall title in the Skeleton World Cup. Despite opting to miss the World Cup finale in

Königssee The Königssee () is a natural lake in the southeast Berchtesgadener Land district of the German state of Bavaria, near the Austrian border. Most of the lake is within the Berchtesgaden National Park. Description Situated within the Bercht ...

, he managed to score a total of 1,545 points from five wins and two silver medals, giving him enough to win the overall standings ahead of

Axel Jungk Axel Jungk (born 13 April 1991) is a German skeleton racer who represents his nation in the Skeleton World Cup. Jungk finished third in the standings in the 2014-15 Skeleton World Cup season. In the 2015-16 Skeleton World Cup Season, he secured ...

(1,507 points) and Tomass Dukurs (1,464). At the

, Yun captured a gold medal, becoming the first athlete from outside Europe and North America to win an Olympic sliding medal and the first athlete from South Korea to win a Winter Olympic medal in a non-ice skating event. His four-run time of 3 minutes, 20.55 seconds was 1.63 seconds ahead of silver medalist Nikita Tregubov of Russia. It was the biggest victory margin in Olympic skeleton, topping

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

when Italy's

Nino Bibbia Nino Bibbia (15 March 1922 – 28 May 2013) was an Italian skeleton racer and bobsledder who competed in the late 1940s. Born in Bianzone, Lombardy, he won the gold medal in the men's skeleton event at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Mor ...

topped Jack Heaton of the United States by 1.4 seconds in a six-heat race. Yun was a contestant in the 2023 Netflix reality competition Physical: 100.

Results

World Cup

Overall standings

Race victories (10)

Filmography

Television show

Web shows

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yun, Sung-Bin 1994 births Living people Skeleton racers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Skeleton racers at the 2018 Winter Olympics Skeleton racers at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic skeleton racers for South Korea South Korean male skeleton racers People from Namhae County Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in skeleton Olympic gold medalists for South Korea Sportspeople from South Gyeongsang Province 21st-century South Korean sportsmen