- Back in 2018, the 24-year-old athlete won gold in the 1500m and bronze in the 500m at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
- After receiving his new passport, Lim traveled to China on Friday. He planned on joining China’s national team after undergoing standard COVID-19 quarantine procedures.
- However, an IOC rule states that an athlete who wants to represent another country during the Olympics must wait three years after their last tournament to compete again.
- Since Lim competed for Korea during the World Figure Skating Championships in March 2019, the earliest he would be able to represent China is March 2022.
- Lim’s agency Brion noted that the athlete’s decision to become a naturalized Chinese citizen and skate for China was based on what’s best for his career, according to Yonhap News.
Harassment case: Lim was convicted of sexual harassment last year after pulling down another male athlete’s pants in front of teammates back in 2019.
- While he was able to overturn the verdict after an appeal, it is up to the South Korean Supreme Court to make a final decision, according to Channel News Asia.
- In 2019, Lim was suspended from the Korea Skating Union for a year. If the supreme court overturns the appellate court’s decision, Lim will no longer be able to compete during the 2022 Winter Olympics.
- Brion claims that in the last two years, Lim hasn’t been able to train anywhere in South Korea.