Olympic Gold Medalist Yoon Sung-bin Reveals Why He Initially Declined 'Physical: Asia'

Olympic skeleton gold medalist Yoon Sung-bin shared why he initially turned down the opportunity to appear on 'Physical: Asia' three times.

On the October 13th episode of JTBC's 'Knowing Bros', Team Korea members Yoon Sung-bin, Amotti, Kim Min-jae, Jang Eun-sil, and Choi Seung-yeon, who won Netflix's 'Physical: Asia', appeared to share behind-the-scenes stories.

During the broadcast, Yoon Sung-bin was asked about the casting process and revealed, "I initially declined about three times," adding, "As a former athlete, I thought performance was important when forming a team to represent Korea." He continued, "But if you look at my performance in 'Physical: 100 Season 1', I was actually eliminated early. I didn't even make it to the final 10, so I thought I wasn't qualified to participate," he candidly admitted.

Yoon also shared that the sport of skeleton was so unconventional that he was initially scared and wanted to run away when he first encountered it. He humorously added that his childhood experience of sledding on fertilizer bags in the countryside might have unknowingly helped him. Ultimately, Yoon decided to participate because "many people I knew, including Amotti, were joining, so after much consideration, I made up my mind," he explained.

Amotti, the winner of 'Physical: 100 Season 2', also hesitated to join. Amotti said, "I was worried that if I didn't perform well, I would lose my honor and not even break even, so I met with the producer to decline." However, the production team persuaded him by saying, "Imagine someone else shining in your place," and that thought made him realize he couldn't bear to watch, leading him to decide to participate due to his competitive spirit.

Kim Min-jae, a current ssireum (Korean wrestling) athlete, expressed his concerns, saying, "I'm considered the best among current ssireum athletes, and if I don't perform well, it might reflect poorly on the sport, and people might say 'ssireum athletes aren't much.'" However, he decided to participate, thinking it might be the last opportunity in his life.

When Lee Soo-geun asked if there was pressure representing the country, Yoon Sung-bin replied, "There was pressure depending on the competition results," and mentioned, "Choi Seung-yeon cried." Yoon recalled that the Australian team was particularly strong, saying, "Australia is technically in Asia, but not really. From the moment Australia appeared, it was different, and there was someone who made Kim Min-jae look small," describing the intimidating situation. Kim Min-jae added, "I rarely encounter foreign athletes, and seeing a foreign athlete bigger than me for the first time made me very anxious."

Meanwhile, Yoon Sung-bin drew attention with his changed appearance. The hosts teased him, saying, "Why does Yoon Sung-bin look so small?", "There's no sign of an athlete on his face," and "He looks like an entertainer among athletes." Yoon explained, "I've lost a lot of weight." He acknowledged that he often hears he resembles an SG Wannabe member.

Reporter Chaeryeong Lim, TenAsia syjj426@tenasia.co.kr