speedskaters Olympics

South Koreans call for speedskaters to be booted from Olympics.

 South Korea -- Thousands of South Koreans are calling for two speedskaters to be expelled from the Olympics after they left their slower teammate behind in a race defined by teamwork and walked away as she quietly sobbed at the stadium in one of the most bizarre moments of this year's Winter Games. As of Thursday afternoon, nearly 570,000 signatures had been gathered on an online petition to South Korea's presidential office calling for skaters Kim Bo-Reum and Park Ji Woo to be expelled from the Olympics.

During the women's team pursuit quarterfinals on Monday, Kim and Park skated ahead as teammate Noh Seon-Yeong fell behind the pack. Noh finished the race nearly four full seconds after her teammates did. Cameras showed Kim and Park walking away after the race as Noh cried in the infield of the Gangneung Oval. She was comforted only by her Dutch coach, Bob de Jong.

Some South Koreans believe Kim and Park were trying to humiliate Noh because there was nothing to be gained by crossing first.

"It's clearly a disgrace to our national image that these individuals of bad character are representing this country at the Olympics," the petition says.

The petition also calls for an investigation into what it describes as "various corruption and irregularities" at the Korea Skating Union, the national skating body. The union has come under criticism for many years for alleged factionalism and nepotism in selecting athletes to compete for the Olympics.

There was no immediate comment by the union.

In team pursuit, the finishing time is set by the third and last skater crossing the line. Normally, the first rider sets the pace and takes the air pressure head on while the other two follow in the draft. Skaters are also allowed to cooperate, including pushing their slower teammates from behind.

But in their quarterfinal heat, it seemed Kim and Park weren't putting much effort into helping Noh keep pace and stay in the pack.