Kim Kyeong-ae (curler)

Kim Kyeong-ae
Curler
Born	(1994-01-21) January 21, 1994 (age 27) Uiseong, South Korea
Team
Curling club	Gangneung CC, Gangneung, KOR
Skip	Kim Eun-jung
Third	Kim Kyeong-ae
Second	Kim Cho-hi
Lead	Kim Seon-yeong
Alternate	Kim Yeong-mi
Career
Member Association	South Korea
World Championship appearances	3 (2017, 2018, 2021)
Pacific-Asia Championship appearances	5 (2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021)
Olympic appearances	1 (2018)
Medal record Women's Curling Representing  South Korea Olympic Games 2018 Pyeongchang Team World Junior Championships 2014 Flims Asian Winter Games 2017 Sapporo Team Pacific-Asia Championships 2016 Uiseong 2017 Erina 2014 Karuizawa 2021 Almaty 2012 Naseby Pacific-Asia Junior Championships 2014 Harbin 2012 Jeonju 2013 Tokoro

Kim Kyeong-ae, nicknamed "Steak"^[1] (born January 21, 1994) is a South Korean curler. She currently plays third on Team Kim Eun-jung. The Kim team represented South Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympics where they won a silver medal.

Career[]

Juniors[]

Kim played in five straight Pacific-Asia Junior Curling Championships playing for South Korea, from 2010 to 2014. She played third for the team which was skipped by Kim Eun-jung from 2010 to 2012 and skipped the team in 2013 and 2014. She won silver medals at the event from 2010 to 2012 inclusive. In her first year as a skip, she led South Korea to a bronze medal, and in 2014 she won the event, picking up a gold medal for the team.

Kim skipped the South Korean team at the 2014 World Junior Curling Championships. She led her team of Kim Seon-yeong, and Oh Eun-jin to a 7-2 round robin record, tied with Canada for first place. After losing the 1 vs. 2 game to Canada (skipped by Kelsey Rocque), Kim led her team to a semifinal win against Sweden before once again losing to Canada in a rematch in the gold medal final.

Kim has represented South Korea's in two Winter Universiades, playing third for Kim Eun-jung at both the 2015 and 2017 Winter Universiades, finishing 5th and 6th respectively.

Women's[]

While still a junior curler, Kim first represented her country at the women's level at the 2012 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, playing third for Kim Eun-jung, who she also played with in juniors. There, the team won a bronze medal. The team returned to the event in 2014, where they won a bronze medal. This would've qualified them for the 2015 World Championships, but the Worlds were held in Japan who qualified over South Korea as hosts. The team would however win a gold medal at the 2016 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, earning them the right to play in the 2017 World Women's Curling Championship in China, where they finished sixth. Also in 2017, the team won a silver medal at the 2017 Asian Winter Games.

Team Kim won the 2017 South Korean championship, qualifying the team to represent South Korea on home ice at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The team began the 2017-18 curling season by winning the 2017 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships. As the host nation, the team received celebrity status in Korea as the "garlic girls", as their hometown of Uiseong is known for its garlic production. The team had an impressive run, making it all the way to the gold medal final, where they lost to Sweden's Anna Hasselborg rink. The next month, the team then played in the 2018 Ford World Women's Curling Championship where they lost in the quarterfinals.

The garlic girls did not play much in the 2018–19 season, amidst a coaching scandal, which involved the country's sport federation vice president verbally abusing the team.^[2] Kim skipped the team in the final event of the season, the 2019 WCT Arctic Cup because her skip Kim Eun-jung was preparing to give birth. The team finished with an 1–3 record, missing the playoffs.

Team Kim returned to the World Curling Tour for the 2019–20 season but with Kyeong-ae skipping. They qualified for the playoffs at the 2019 Cameron's Brewing Oakville Fall Classic, the 2019 Stu Sells Oakville Tankard and finished runner-up at the inaugural WCT Uiseong International Curling Cup. Kim Eun-jung rejoined the team at the 2019 Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic where she would throw second stones. They had a quarterfinal finish. Team Kim also had a quarterfinal finish the following week at the 2019 Canad Inns Women's Classic where Kim Eun-jung returned to throwing skip stones. They made it to the final of the 2019 Changan Ford International Curling Elite and finished fourth at the 2019 China Open in December 2019. In the new year, they had a quarterfinal finish at the International Bernese Ladies Cup and they won the Glynhill Ladies International. It would be the team's last event of the season as both the Players' Championship and the Champions Cup Grand Slam events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3]

The Kim rink began the abbreviated 2020–21 season by winning their national championship at the 2020 Korean Women's Curling Championship.^[4] After finishing 6–0 through the round robin, her team defeated Kim Min-ji 6–5 in the 1 vs. 2 page playoff game and won 7–5 over Gim Un-chi in the championship final. Their win qualified them to represent Korea at the 2021 World Women's Curling Championship. There, the team had a slow start, losing their first four games before going 7–2 in their final nine games. Their 7–6 record placed them seventh after the round robin, not enough to qualify for the playoffs and the 2022 Winter Olympics.^[5] The team also changed home clubs during the season, switching from the to the Gangneung Curling Centre after their contract expired with the Gyeongsangbukdo Sports Council.^[6]

Personal life[]

Her older sister Kim Yeong-mi is the alternate on her team.

Grand Slam record[]

Former events[]

References[]

External links[]

• Kim Kyeong-ae at World Curling Federation
• Kim Kyeong-ae at Olympedia