S. Korean skater humiliated

GANGNEUNG — Noh Seon-Yeong’s tears have mobilized the hosts of the Pyeongchang Olympics, marring the Games for a nation that prides itself on sportsmanship and civility.

Noh, a long-track speedskater, cried in the infield of the Gangneung Oval on Monday after being humiliated by her teammates in the team pursuit. Kim Bo-Reum and Park Ji Woo walked by their

distraught teammate, unmoved, after abandoning her in an event that is defined by cooperation.

Koreans were so angered by the display that a petition was started on President Moon Jae-In’s website asking that Kim and Park be banned from the national team because “It is a clear national disgrace that such people with a personality problem are representing a country in the Olympics.”

At one point Wednesday, that petition had 400,000 signatures.

Wednesday night, Noh skated with Kim and Park again in a near-meaningless race that captured the attention of the nation. In a two-team race to determine seventh and eighth place.

In the pursuit, a team of three skaters race for time. Cooperation is permitted, and skaters can push their teammates,

literally, and strategy often calls for a faster skater to be positioned behind a slower one to do just that. But instead of helping Noh, or even skating at a pace that would keep her with the pack, Kim and Park skated away from their slower teammate in their quarterfinal heat Monday night. Noh finished alone, four seconds later, exposed as the weakest link.