View source for Park Hye-won

{{short description|Short track speed skater}}
{{MedalTableTop | medals=
{{MedalSport|Women's [[short track speed skating]]}}
{{MedalCountry|{{KOR}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Short track speed skating at the Winter Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[2002 Winter Olympics|2002 Salt Lake City]]|[[Short track speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics – Women's 3000 metre relay|3000 m relay]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[World Short Track Speed Skating Championships|World Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[2002 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships|2002 Montreal]]|3000 m relay}}
{{MedalGold|2002 [[World Short Track Speed Skating Team Championships|Milwaukee]]|Team}}
{{MedalSilver|[[2000 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships|2000 Sheffield]]|1500 m}}
{{MedalSilver|[[2000 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships|2000 Sheffield]]|3000 m relay}}
{{MedalSilver|2000 [[World Short Track Speed Skating Team Championships|The Hague]]|Team}}
{{MedalSilver|[[2001 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships|2001 Jeonju]]|3000 m relay}}
{{MedalSilver|2001 [[World Short Track Speed Skating Team Championships|Nobeyama]]|Team}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Winter Universiade]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[2003 Winter Universiade|2003 Tarvisio]]|3000 m relay}}
}}
{{family name hatnote|Park||lang=Korean}}

'''Park Hye-won''' ({{Korean|hangul=박혜원|hanja=朴慧園}}; born August 15, 1983, in [[Seoul]]) is a retired [[South Korea]]n [[Short track speed skating|short track speed skater]].

==Early career==
Park started skating at the age of 10. In 1997, at 14, she was first called up to the South Korean national short track speed skating team for the 1998 Asian Short Track Speed Skating Championships where she won gold medals in the 3000 metres and 3000 metre relay.

In 1998, Park claimed her spot in Team Korea, ranked 1st in the national trials, and then she competed in the 1998–99 [[Short Track Speed Skating World Cup]] series. At the first event held in the [[Netherlands]], Park finished 1st in the 1500 metre race, beating [[Yang Yang (A)]]. However, at the second event in [[Hungary]], she tore her hamstring, bumping with a British opponent during a race, and was sidelined for a whole year.

==1999–2001==
In 1999, Park came back from the hamstring injury and participated in the Asian Short Track Speed Skating Championships. She won four gold medals (1000 metres, 1500 metres, 3000 metres, and 3000 metre relay), sweeping all the women's events except for the 500 metres. During the 1999–2000 World Cup, Park won two gold medals in the 3000 metres and one silver in the 1500 metres.

In 2000, Park won two silver medals (3000 metre relay and 1500 metres) at the [[2000 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships]] held in [[Sheffield]], [[England]], and added another silver at the [[World Short Track Speed Skating Championships|World Team Championships]] held in [[The Hague]], [[Netherlands]]. She set the 3000 metre unofficial world record and current Korean national record of an astonishing 4:42.15, a time considered far out of reach of even the best present athletes, on April 8, 2000, in the Korean national championships.

In 2001, Park captured another 3000 metre gold medal on December 17 in the fifth event of the 2001–02 World Cup held in [[Amsterdam]], finishing the race ahead of Yang Yang (A) with a margin of 16 seconds.

==2002 Winter Olympics==
Park first participated at the [[Winter Olympics]] in February 2002. Since the 3000 metre individual race had not been a part of Olympic events, the 3000 metre specialist competed only in the [[Short track speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics – Women's 3000 metre relay|3000 metre relay]] at the [[Short track speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics|2002 Winter Olympics]], combining with [[Choi Eun-kyung]], [[Choi Min-kyung]], and [[Joo Min-jin]]. Team Korea eventually won its third consecutive Olympic women's 3000 metre relay gold medal, setting the new world record in the final race.

In April 2002, at the [[2002 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships|2002 World Championships]], Park led the Korean relay team to its first world championship in the history of the team.

==Retirement==
Upon entering college at [[Sungshin Women's University]] after the Olympics, Park focused mainly on her studies. After winning gold in the 3000 metre relay at the [[2003 Winter Universiade]], Park retired from skating.

==External links==
* {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929211745/http://www.databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=PARKHYE01 |date=September 29, 2007 |title=Database Olympics}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions 3000m Relay Short Track Speed Skating Womens}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Hye-Won}}
[[Category:1983 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:South Korean female speed skaters]]
[[Category:South Korean female short-track speed skaters]]
[[Category:Olympic short-track speed skaters for South Korea]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for South Korea]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in short-track speed skating]]
[[Category:Short-track speed skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:World Short Track Speed Skating Championships medalists]]
[[Category:FISU World University Games gold medalists for South Korea]]
[[Category:Winter World University Games medalists in short-track speed skating]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2003 Winter Universiade]]
[[Category:21st-century South Korean sportswomen]]