Short track bronze medalist inspired by snowboard champion

MILAN — Soon after winning his first Olympic medal in Milan on Thursday, short track speed skater Rim Jong-un received hundreds of text messages from family and friends congratulating him on his accomplishment. The bronze medalist in the men's 1,000 meters at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics had not read any of them as of early Friday afternoon — he went to bed right after a late dinner the night before and had to come back out for a training session starting at noon the next day at Milano Ice Skating Arena. But the 18-year-old did find some time to watch the highlights of another South Korean medalist from Thursday night: the 17-year-old halfpipe snowboard champion Choi Gaon. Choi overcame a lower body injury sustained in a frightening fall during her first run at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, about 140 kilometers north of Milan, and posted an impressive 92.50 points in her third and final run for South Korea's first gold medal of this year's Olympics — and also the country's first gold in a snow event. The dramatic and emotionally-charged performance — Choi, who later said sh