Livigno: Alpine snowboarder Kim Sang-kyum captured a shocking silver medal in the men's parallel giant slalom for South Korea's first medal at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday. After winning his first two knockout races when his opponents failed to cross the finish line, Kim defeated Tervel Zamfirov of Bulgaria by 0.23 second in the semifinals before losing to Benjamin Karl of Austria by 0.19 second in the final at Livigno Snow Park, about 230 kilometers north of Milan.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim, 37, became just the second South Korean to win an Olympic snowboarding medal, following in the footsteps of Lee Sang-ho, who earned a silver medal in the parallel giant slalom in 2018. Meanwhile, Lee faced a challenging round of 16, losing to Austria's Andreas Prommegger by a mere 0.17 second.

This achievement marks a significant milestone for South Korea at the Winter Olympics, as Kim's performance highlights the nation's growing prominence in winter sports on the global stage.