Choi Min-jeong Wiki: Skater, Net Worth, Gold Medal And Facts You Need To Know

South Korean short track speed skate athlete, Choi Min-jeong was born in 1998. Choi earned her first senior individual gold medal ahead of Arianna Fontana and Shim Suk-hee, after passing through the finish line of the women's 1500 m final for the second ISU Short Track World Cup of the 2014-2015 seasons held in Montreal, Canada. At just 16 years of age, Min-jeong became the 2015 Overall Ladies World Champion. She's the current 500 m short track speed skating Olympic record holder after breaking the previous record set by Elise Christie by 0.45 seconds. She was penalized in the final of the 500 m event at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games for interference, but she still managed to win a gold medal in the following 1500 m race. She also won a gold medal in the 3000 m Relay but in the 1000 m Finals, she collided with another South Korean skater and crashed, ultimately finishing at the fourth place. The athlete is a student studying at the Yonsei University, Seoul, KOR and she speaks Korean fluently. She trained under coach Son Sae-Won, Kim Sun-Tae and Park Se-Woo. Min-jeong was bothered by an ankle injury after falling at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Erzurum, Turkey. She began skating in 2004 in Seoul, Republic of Korea because her father encouraged her to go to a skating class during the winter holidays. She trains for 10 hours a day during the season which leaves little time for anything else, including a social life. Her most memorable achievement thus far was winning three gold medals at the 2015 World Championships in Moscow, Russian Federation. Her hero is the Korean short track skater Jin Sun-Yu. She takes her influence from her parents and her coach Jae-Bum. She believes in the philosophy, "No pain, no gain." She received the Top Player Award at the 2016 Korean Women's Sports Grand Awards. Choi Min-jeong was given the Best Athletics Award at the 62nd Korean Athletics Awards Ceremony by the Korean Olympic Committee. She received the Rookie of the Year Award at the 2015 Korean Women's Sports Grand Awards. She was named the 2014 Rookie of the Year at the Korean Sports Awards. She shared the award with shooter Kim Cheong-Yong.

The net worth of the skater is currently unknown.

Choi Min-jeong was only 16 years old when she first stood on the podium at the 2015 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, winning gold medal in the 1000m, 3000m and 3000m relay, as well as taking the overall crown. Min-jeong entered the event in Moscow as the world junior champion over 1000m and she duly cracked Great Britain's Elise Christie - eight years her elder - to take the senior title. Choi also led a Republic of Korea 1-2-3 in the 3000 m, defeating Shim Suk-hee and Kim A-lang. In addition, Choi picked up a bronze medal in the 1500m to complete a very satisfactory championships. She went on to retain the 1000 m and overall titles in 2016, with the Republic of Korea again taking the 3000 m relay, while improving her performance by winning a silver medal in the 1500m. At the 2017 Winter Asian Games, Choi won a gold medal in the 1500m and also helped her country win the 3000m relay, with a silver medal win in the 1000m and bronze medal in the 500m. Min-jeong was among the favorites for a place on the podium at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang but she claimed she was at just “60 percent” of her performance levels when winning the 500m and 1500m at the World Cup event in Budapest in September 2017. This woman definitely has a humble attitude and a never give up outlook to her sport. Choi Min-Jeong defeated her competitors in the 1500m finishing almost a second ahead of the competition, to the delight of the home crowd. To win a title in her own home country was an honor only those who experience it could understand. "It was the biggest dream of mine for four years, I can't put it into words," Choi said after the race. "I am so proud of it. Physically I am so burned out but inside I am so happy, so proud of my whole country." Choi won South Korea’s third gold medal and fourth overall medal of the 2018 Olympics. The 1500m gold medal is the first medal won by a South Korean woman at these Olympics. South Korean President Moon Jae-in was also in attendance to watch Min-jeong's win and Li Junyu and Kim Boutin followed Choi at the finish line. "It’s pretty unbelievable. It was a really hard race and it was pretty exciting," Boutin said "I feel like I did pretty well. It was a lot of work behind me, just making the final for me is a big bonus. I did it two times (now) so it’s unbelievable."

Choi Min-joeng is active on Instagram @chmj10021. She uploads her random photos and photos from her competitions on her Instagram account.