《TAIPEI TIMES》 Controversial speedskater to retire after Olympics

/ Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwanese speedskater Huang Yu-ting （黃郁婷） plans to retire from competitive sport after the Beijing Winter Olympics, she said on Saturday.

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“I feel exhausted both physically and mentally,” Huang said in an interview.

The 33-year-old speedskater, who was last night to race in the women’s 500m in Beijing, finished 26th in the 1,500m competition on Monday last week.

She is also to compete in the women’s 1,000m race on Thursday.

Prior to the start of the Games, Huang faced criticism online after she on Jan. 23 posted on Facebook a video of herself wearing a Chinese national team skinsuit while training.

The video went unnoticed until Feb. 3, when it drew an angry response in Taiwan, and Huang removed it.

The skater has since apologized, and although the Sports Administration chided her for not showing sufficient sensitivity toward cross-strait issues, it did not punish or reprimand her for the video and allowed her to act as the national team’s flagbearer during the Games’ opening ceremony.

“Especially after this incident, I’m even more certain about” retiring, Huang said, adding that she felt the time was right to exit the sport after years of competition.

She said the incident was a misunderstanding, and that she would provide an explanation after the Games.

Beijing is Huang’s second Olympics, after also competing in the same three events at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

Originally an inline speedskater, Huang switched to the ice in 2015, and has won gold and silver medals in both disciplines at international events, including the Four Continents Speed Skating Championships, the Asian Games and the World Games.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES