S. Korea's Choi defends overall short track title
Choi Min-jeong, left, leads the field in the women’s 1,000-meter final during the International Skating Union World Short Track Speed Skating Championships at Mokdong Ice Rink in western Seoul, Sunday. Choi won the race. / Yonhap
By Baek Byung-yeul
Short track speed skater Choi Min-jeong won the overall world title for the second consecutive year, Sunday.
At the International Skating Union (ISU) World Short Track Speed Skating Championships at Mokdong Ice Rink in western Seoul, Choi topped every female skater with 66 points. The points were accumulated over 500-meter, 1,000-meter, 1,500-meter and 3,000-meter races. Choi was followed by Marianne St-Gelais of Canada with 63 points and Elise Christie of Britain with 47 points. It was her second consecutive title following the win in Moscow last year.
The 18-year-old skater, who finished second in the 1,500-meter final, Saturday, won the 1,000-meter race earlier Sunday with the record of 1 minute and 31.933 seconds, edging out Christie by 0.047 seconds.
Though Choi fell to the back after tripping over the skate of Qu Chunyu of China in the 3,000-meter final, she was placed sixth in the end. The 3,000-meter race is also known as “super final,” in which only the top eight skaters can compete based on their results in the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 meters.
With the win, Choi became the first Korean since Jin Sun-yu (2005-2007) to repeat as world champion. This is the third short track world championships in South Korea and Choi is the first, man or woman, to win the overall title on home ice.
Comprised of Noh Do-hee, Shim Suk-hee, Lee Eun-byul and Choi, Korea also captured gold in the women’s 3,000-meter relay with a time of four minutes and 19.545 seconds. Canada took silver and Russia earned bronze while China was disqualified for crossing the line.
In the men’s race, Park Se-young won silver in the 3,000-meter final with four minutes and 49.939 seconds, following China’s Han Tianyu with four minutes and 49.450 seconds. Overall, Park was placed fourth with 39 points while Han won the title with 68 points.
The South Korean men’s team, comprised of Park, Kwak Yoon-gy, Seo Yi-ra and Park Ji-won, took bronze in the men’s 5,000-meter relay with a time of 7:05.652. China and Canada took gold and silver. Since they won the 2010 competition, the men’s team has failed to add gold in subsequent relay races.
Overall, Korea won three gold medals, two silver and two bronze.