TWO-TIME Olympic champion Shim Suk-hee has been cut from South Korea’s short track speedskating team after a reported text message exchange that suggested she may have intentionally tripped a teammate during the 2018 Winter Games.

The Korea Staking Union said yesterday it’s preparing to launch an investigation and had barred the 24-year-old Shim from competing in the International Skating Union short track speedskating World Cup series beginning next week.

The Seoul-based Dispatch online news outlet last week revealed what it described as text messages exchanged between Shim and her coach during the last Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

In the messages, Shim reportedly insulted teammates Choi Min-jeong and Kim A-lang and discussed making Choi a “female Steven Bradbury.”

Bradbury likely refers to an Australian short track skater who won the 1,000-meter final in the 2002 Winter Olympics after every other skater in the final fell over. But what exactly Shim and her coach meant in the messages wasn’t clear — Bradbury won the gold medal.

After the messages were exchanged, Shim and Choi did take each other out amid a desperate late charge in the 1,000-meter race. Shim was later disqualified and Choi ranked fourth.(SD-Agencies)