Korean stars snap up gold medals at ISU World Cup Short Track
Korea's Kim Gil-li celebrates winning the women's 1500m final at the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating event held in Seoul, Dec. 16. Reuters-Yonhap
Korean teen short track sensation Kim Gil-li grabbed a gold and a bronze at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup Short Track Speed Skating event on home ice Saturday.
Kim, 19, won the first of two women's 1,500-meter finals at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul, edging out Corinne Stoddard of the United States.
Kim picked up 100 World Cup ranking points and continues to lead the overall standings with 715 points for the season, 35 ahead of Kristen Santos-Griswold of the United States.
Kim has now won at least one gold medal in all four ISU World Cup competitions so far this season.
On the men's side, Park Ji-won claimed gold in the first of two 1,500m finals, finishing ahead of William Dandjinou of Canada.
Park, the men's World Cup overall champion last season, climbed to second place in this season's standings with 556 points, 17 back of Steven Dubois of Canada.
Dubois beat Korea's Hwang Dae-heon by 0.014 second for gold in the men's 1,000m.
Park and Kim later teamed up with Hwang and Shim Suk-hee for bronze in the mixed 2,000m relay.
South Korea was penalized in the final when Park collided with a Dutch skater on the last curve, and the Netherlands, Italy and the United States did a re-race.
The U.S. team was penalized then, and that left Korea and the U.S. as the co-bronze medalists.
The ISU World Cup, the first to be held in Korea in six years, concludes Sunday with finals in the men's and women's 500m, 1,500m, women's 3,000m relay and men's 5,000m relay. (Yonhap)
Korea's Park Ji Won celebrates winning the men's 1500m final at the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating event held in Seoul, Dec. 16. Reuters-Yonhap