Industry News
Three Korean skiers were killed in a horror crash on State Highway 79 in New Zealand on Wednesday, August 21. A van carrying Korean national athletes and a four-wheel-drive collided head-on on a highway near Geraldine in South Canterbury on New Zealand’s South Island, leaving three dead and two with serious injuries. South Korean sports officials and New Zealand police confirmed the deaths of the three Korean athletes. Shim Hye-min, an official from South Korea’s Sport and Olympic Committee, said that the three victims were visiting New Zealand for training but declined to identify the victims.
According to the district’s police inspector, Vicki Walker, the two cars were traveling in opposite directions when they collided for unexplained reasons. The driver of the four-wheel-drive was seriously injured, and the driver of the Korean van was also injured, and both were flown to a hospital in Christchurch. The Korean van was part of a convoy of Korean athletes who were traveling in a group.
The crash has renewed calls by local district politicians for a reduction in the speed limit on State Highway 79. Nigel Bowen, the mayor of Timaru district, said in an interview with New Zealand news outlets, “It’s the most dangerous piece of state highway in our district. The speed limit in our view is too high. We requested in August last year that it go from 100 kmh [62.5 mph] down to 70 to 80 kmh [44-50 mph] and also the road seal is consistently bad and we’ve requested major improvements there as well.” The short stretch of highway between Kennedy Street and Tiplady Road, where the fatal accident happened, has had seven crashes in the last four years. Just last week a person was killed in a two-vehicle crash north of Geraldine.
Geraldine is an hour from Roundhill Ski Area in Tekapo, where Dutch-Austrian ski racer Marcel Hirscher had also been training until two days ago. Several national ski teams had been training at Roundhill in August, including the Stifel U.S. Ski Team. U.S. ski racers Nina O’Brien, who last year broke her leg while training in New Zealand, and Ava Sunshine Jemison, who tore her ACL, both shared happy snaps from Roundhill Ski Area, where the two are working on their 24/25 season comeback.
Several South Korean skiers competed at the FIS Slalom and Giant Slalom races at Coronet Peak from August 15 – 19, most of whom youth athletes between the ages of 16 and 20 years of age. If any of these athletes were involved is currently unclear, but there are reports that Olympic athletes were traveling in the convoy. According to a local Canterbury newspaper, the Korean skiers were in the region to compete in the Winter Games, which begin at Cardrona, Coronet Peak and The Remarkables near Queenstown on Friday, August 23. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families, friends, and team members.
