By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter
Korea's men's and women's short track teams won Sunday (KST) at the ISU World Team Championships ― the first time both have placed first in four years.
The men's team topped the podium for the second-straight year collecting 38 points and the women's team regained the title they last won in 2007 with 45 points in Bormio, Italy.
The top eight teams compete for the Team Championships. Skaters earn points for their countries and each nation can send four skaters. However, China didn't appear at the competition this time around.
The eight teams are divided into two groups, which are then divided into four heats.
The winners of the preliminary rounds receive five points and the next placed skaters receive three, two and one points.
The relay events award 10 points to the winners and six, four and two to the next placed competitors.
In the first women's event, the 1,000 meters, all four Koreans, Cho Ha-ri, Kim Min-jung, Lee Eun-byul and Park Seung-hi, finished first in their heats to collect 20 points.
In the 500 meters, Lee and Park gathered another five points each and Cho and Kim added five finishing second and third, which extended the lead to 10 against next placed Canada with 25 points.
The women's team struggled as they failed to collect any points in the 3,000 meters finishing fifth and sixth after crashing into other contenders.
But Korea acquired another 10 points to give them a total of 45 points as they crossed the finish line first in the 3,000-meter relay.
On the men's side the Koreans got off to a bad start when Lee Ho-suk was disqualified in the 1,000 meters.
Vancouver Olympics two-time gold medalist Lee Jung-su and Kwak Yoon-gy, finished first and Kim Seoung-il came in second in their heats in the 1,000 meters, adding 13 points.
In the 500 meters, none of the Koreans clinched the top spot. Lee Jung-su, Kwak and Lee Ho-suk managed just three points each as runners-up and Kim added one finishing fourth.
Instead another short track powerhouse, Canada, collected 13 points in the 500 meters after Charles Hamelin and Olivier Jean's wins and Francois-Louis Tremblay, who was second.
That put Korea second with 23 points - five behind the North Americans.
In the 3,000 meters, Kim's win closed the gap while Canada added two points finishing third.
The winner of the championships was decided in the last second of the final race, the 5,000-meter relay.
The Koreans and the Canadians were neck and neck for 45 laps and the Koreans crossed the finish line just 0.140 ahead of Canada, which meant they clinched the title with a final total of 38 points with Canada ending the championships with 36.
Having ended the season with a victory, the team will return to Korea on Tuesday.