Olympic speed skating champion Lee Seung-hoon suspended for 1 yr over assault allegations

SEOUL, July 9 (Yonhap) -- Two-time Olympic speed skating gold medalist Lee Seung-hoon has been suspended for a year over allegations of physically assaulting teammates.

The Korea Skating Union (KSU) announced its penalty on the 31-year-old on Tuesday, saying it had gathered sufficient testimony from witnesses to conclude that Lee assaulted two younger teammates on multiple occasions.

Lee may appeal the decision with the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee.

Assault allegations against Lee first surfaced in May last year following the sports ministry's probe into the KSU. The ministry at the time accused Lee of beating up on two teammates at a team hotel and a restaurant during international competitions in 2011, 2013 and 2016.

Lee has denied all allegations against him.

Lee is one of South Korea's most decorated Winter Olympic athletes, having captured two gold and three silver medals in four different disciplines across three Winter Games.

He shot to stardom by capturing the gold in the men's 10,000 meters and the silver in the 5,000 meters at Vancouver 2010. Four years later in Sochi, Lee added a team pursuit silver. Then at PyeongChang 2018, Lee won the men's mass start gold medal in the event's Olympic debut and also earned silver in the team pursuit.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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