PYEONGCHANG, South Korea, Feb. 6 (Yonhap) -- For South Korean ski jumper Kim Hyun-ki, the PyeongChang Winter Games are his sixth Olympics.
Since Nagano 1998, Kim has been a regular invitee for the Olympics. With his fellow ski jumper Choi Se-ou, Kim will match former speed skater Lee Kyou-hyuk's record of six Olympic appearances, the most by a South Korean. Lee achieved his feat by attending the games from Lillehammer 1994 to Sochi 2014.
"It's not easy to represent your country at the Olympics at home, but I'm honored to have this opportunity," Kim said to Yonhap News Agency on Monday. "Hoenggye is my hometown, so it makes it meaningful."
Hoenggye is a small village in PyeongChang, the host city for the 2018 Winter Games. Kim was born there, but he moved to Muju, North Jeolla Province, in 1989. He learned ski jumping in Muju, where South Korea's first ski jumping tower was constructed in 1991, before returning to Hoenggye.
Although this year's Olympic Games are being staged in his hometown, Kim said his training was harder this time around.
"In 2016, they told me that the ski jumping tower would be remodeled, so I couldn't practice much," he said. "This year, it was also difficult to practice there because of the Olympics preparations, so I had to train in Japan."
South Korean ski jumper Kim Hyun-ki poses for a photo at the Olympic Village in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, on Feb. 5, 2018. (Yonhap)
Among his past five Olympics, Kim picked Salt Lake 2002 as his most memorable.
"At the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan, we finished last in the team event, but in 2002, we took eighth place," he said. "That result was higher than ski jumping powerhouse Norway, so we were really happy then."
So far in his career, Kim said maintaining his weight has been the most difficult thing. He currently weighs 62 kilograms and is 176 centimeters in height. In ski jumping, those who are tall and light are considered to have an advantage because they can fly further.
"When I was young, I was able to hold on to my weight control, but it's getting difficult as I get older," he said. "The pressure on my weight has existed from the day that I started ski jumping."
For the PyeongChang Olympics, Kim said his goal is to reach the final round.
"We had big expectations in the team event, even looking for a top five finish, but it's a pity that we couldn't compete," he said. "For the individual event, my goal is to reach the final round, beating my personal best of 31st place at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics."
In this file photo taken Oct. 20, 2017, South Korean ski jumper Kim Hyun-ki makes a practice jump at Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province. (Yonhap)
Kim, who turns 35 on Friday, said Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre in PyeongChang could make for unpredictable results at the Feb. 9-25 Olympics, since the venue isn't easy for the ski jumpers.
"Performance there is largely affected by wind, so you need to have some luck," he said. "It's difficult to predict who will win the competition and there will be athletes who'll make mistakes. But on the other hand, we will also be able to see athletes have unexpectedly good results."
Kim, along with Choi, is in his 30s but is still a core member of the South Korean national team. He said he really wants see young promising ski jumpers from South Korea.
"People ask why I'm still with the national team, but if there are young athletes who can do better than me, I'll be really happy to retire," he said. "But as the Olympics are just around the corner, right now, I'll focus on the Olympics instead of thinking the future."
Kim was the youngest male athlete at the Nagano 1998 Winter Games. And now he is thinking of becoming the oldest athlete to take part in the Olympics.
"I really had that dream (of becoming the oldest athlete at the Olympics) when I was young," he said. "Should I take part in (the Beijing Olympics) in 2022?"
kdon@yna.co.kr
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