South Korea shops for medals

Host country boosts its chances by luring other nations’ Olympians.

PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA

When Aileen Frisch of Ger— many became the world junior luge champion in 2012, it might have seemed that her Olympic future was set. It was, but for a country she never expected — South Korea.

After South Korea won hosting rights to the 2018 Winter Games in 2011, the country needed to turn Pyeongchang, a little-known hamlet 100 miles east of Seoul, into a winter sports capital capable of staging competitions in 15 sports and housing 3,000 athletes and thousands more Olympic officials, journalists and visitors. It also needed a luge team.

South Korea has experienced limited Olympic success in winter sports. Of its 53 medals, 42 have come in short-track speedskating, nine in long-track speedskating and two in figure skating. None have come in the sliding sports of bobsled, luge or skeleton.

So South Korea followed a familiar strategy for host nations that do not excel at winter sports and do not want to be embarrassed

CHANG W. LEE / THE NEW YORK TIMES WINTER OLYMPICS German-born luger Aileen Frisch (left), one of 19 naturalized South Koreans who will compete for medals in Pyeongchang, schmoozes with her new teammates.