Yun Sung-bin

Yun Sung-bin was born on May 23, 1994, in Jinju, South Korea. He later resided in Seoul. Growing up, Yun demonstrated athletic abilities, excelling in various sports such as soccer, badminton, competitive running, and jumping. His talent was recognized by his physical education teacher, Kim Young-tae, who was also an official at the Korea Bobsleigh Skeleton Federation. This observation led to Yun being recruited by Korea National Sport University, marking his entry into the sport of skeleton.

Yun began skeleton racing at the age of 18 in early 2012. After only three months of training, he won the national championship in September 2012. He made his international debut in the 2012–13 season on the North American Cup Tour. His performance in the 2013–14 FIBT Intercontinental Cup Tour brought him broader attention, particularly when he won gold in Whistler, Canada, in January 2014, becoming the first Korean skeleton slider to achieve a podium finish at an international event. Following a 16th-place finish at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Yun’s career progressed significantly under the guidance of British sled specialist Richard Bromley. He earned his first World Cup podium finish with a bronze medal in Calgary in December 2014, concluding his rookie season in sixth place overall with one silver and two bronze medals.

The 2015–16 season saw Yun secure his first World Cup gold medal in St. Moritz and a silver at the 2016 IBSF World Championships in Igls, finishing the season in second place overall. He maintained this second-place overall standing in the 2016–17 season, securing another World Cup gold in Whistler. In the 2017–18 World Cup, Yun made history by becoming the first Asian athlete to win the overall title, with five wins and two silver medals across seven races. This culminated in a gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, where he became the first athlete from outside Europe and North America to win an Olympic sliding medal and the first South Korean to win a Winter Olympic medal in a non-ice skating event. His victory margin of 1.63 seconds was the largest in Olympic skeleton history. Beyond professional sports, Yun was a contestant on the 2023 Netflix reality competition “Physical: 100” and is scheduled to debut as an actor in the movie “The House of Ghosts” in late 2026.