Noh wins double gold in Netherlands

Noh Jin-kyu has become a double gold medalist at the short track speed skating’s final World Cup series of the season in the Netherlands.

The 19-year-old, a new phenomenon on the Korean squad, Monday (KST) triumphed in the men’s 1,000-meter final in a time of 1 minute 28.202 seconds ahead of Canada’s Olivier Jean and U.S. skater J.R. Celski who clocked in at 1:28.265 and 1:28.422, respectively.

Noh also topped the podium in the 1,500 meters the previous day and solidified his status at No. 1 in the overall world rankings with a total of eight gold medals in the World Cup series. Compatriot Kwak Yoon-gy had to settle for silver in the 500 meters behind American Simon Cho on the last day of competition.

In the men’s 5,000-meter relay, the Korean team came third, as the Netherlands crossed the finish line first.

The Korean men’s short-track team closed out the World Cup campaign with 13 titles out of 30 while the women were held to just three gold medals.