Shim Suk-hee of South Korea has been a major figure in women's short track in recent seasonsA South Korean women's short track speed skating coach has been suspended just weeks before the country hosts the Winter Olympics, officials said, with reports saying he hit Sochi gold medallist Shim Suk-Hee. South Korea is a dominant power in short track, particularly its women, but has been dogged for years by controversy over its boot-camp style training, abuse of athletes and factional feuds. The KSU said late Thursday that a "problem" had occurred "between an athlete and a coach" during a training session and the coach had been suspended. Shim and teammate Choi Min-Jeong have been major figures in women's short track in recent seasons, but Yonhap cited the official as saying Shim has not maintained her pace ahead of the Olympics, leading to tensions with her instructor. In 2004, six of the eight members of the national women's short track speed skating team abandoned their training in protest against repeated assaults by their coach, who later resigned.

Source: Daily Mail January 19, 2018 03:45 UTC