K-pop boy band Enhypen’s Sunghoon, a former figure skater, carries torch at 2026 Winter Olympics

K-pop boy band Enhypen member Sunghoon, a former figure skater, carried the Olympic torch at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy on Feb 6, according to his agency Belift Lab.

The 23-year-old singer ran his segment of the torch relay area near the city of Milan’s Bolivar station.

Crowds moved with him along the route as he did his run. He marched for about 20 minutes with them, smiling and waving, before passing the torch to the next runner.

Before joining Enhypen, Sunghoon was in South Korea’s national figure skating reserve team. He was in the junior division at the 2014 South Korean Figure Skating Championships and competed in the ISU Junior Grand Prix.

After retiring from skating in 2019, he debuted the following year through Mnet’s audition programme I-Land (2020).

“Coming to the Olympic stage was my first dream as an athlete. I chose a different path as an idol, but being here still feels like realising that dream,” Sunghoon said after the torch relay.

He became the second K-pop star to serve as an Olympic torchbearer. The first was Jin of K-pop boy band BTS, who participated in the torch relay at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.

Since 2025, Sunghoon has served as an ambassador for the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee. He was selected as a torchbearer for the Winter Olympics on the recommendation of Samsung Electronics, an official sponsor of the Games, according to industry sources.

In addition, the seven-member group’s song Shout Out from their third mini-album Manifesto: Day 1 (2022) was chosen as an official cheering anthem for South Korea’s Olympic squad.

The 2026 Winter Games opened with a ceremony at San Siro Stadium in Milan on Feb 6 and runs through Feb 23, with about 3,500 athletes competing for 116 gold medals. A total of 130 members, 71 athletes and 59 officials, will represent Team Korea. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK