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The One with the Most

January 28, 2014

Korea’s first-ever 6-time Olympian Lee Kyou-hyuk

to carry S. Korean flag at Sochi Winter Olympics 

Lee Kyou-hyuk hopes his sixth time is the charm. (Yonhap)

Lee Kyou-hyuk hopes his sixth time is the charm. (Yonhap)

Veteran speed skater Lee Kyou-hyuk will be South Korea’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics, officials announced on Tuesday.

The Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) said Lee, 35, will carry the national flag when the Winter Games kicks off in Russia on Feb. 7.

Lee will be competing in his sixth Olympic Games, the most by any South Korean athlete either in Summer or Winter Olympics. He has appeared in every Winter Games competition since the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics. Lee has won four gold medals at the world sprint championships and collected 14 titles in the International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup series. He is still looking for his first Olympic medal.

South Korea tied its all-time record of six gold medals in Vancouver four years ago, and it has set out to win at least four gold medals this year to finish in the top 10 for the sixth time in the past seven Winter Games.

The first batch of the athletes will fly to Sochi on Saturday.