Dresden (GER)

The fifth stop of the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series 2014/15 resumed today in Dresden, Germany with the first Ladies and Men’s 1500 m of the weekend, and the Ladies and Men’s 1000 m and Relay semifinals.

Korea dominates the Ladies and Men 1500 m events

Minjeong Choi earned her fourth win of the season in the 15000 m today, and extended her lead in the World Cup classification for the distance. Choi’s teammate, Do Hee Noh crossed the line in second place while Agne Sereikaite of Lithuania finished third. This was the first World Cup medal for Sereikaite. Yang Liu of China finished fourth, while both Yang Zhou (China) and Arianna Fontana (Italy) received penalties.

On the Men’s side, it was also a Korean one-two finish, with Da Woon Sin crossing the finish line in first place, ahead of teammate Se Yeong Park. Dequan Chen of China was third. Sin extends his lead in the World Cup classification for the distance, after earning his fourth win of the season. The other finishers were (in order): Yon-Gy Kwak (KOR), Jack Whelbourne (GBR), and Viktor Knoch (HUN). Dmitry Migunov (RUS) received a penalty in the event, to finished seventh.

Alang Kim (KOR) and Semen Elistratov (RUS) claim wins in the 1000 m events

Alang Kim of Korea took the win in the Ladies 1000 m final, after taking the lead midway through the race. Second place finisher was Kexin Fan (CHN) who took the spot away from Marianna St-Gelais (CAN) on the last lap. St-Gelais ends up in third. Yui Sakai (JPN) finishes fourth, while Jiaying Tao (CHN) finishes fifth. Despite ranking in 18th place today, Suk Hee Shim (KOR) maintains her lead in the World Cup classification for the distance.

In the Men’s 1000 m, Russia claimed the top two podium places: Semen Elistratov was first while his teammate Vladimir Grigorev was second. Both skaters dominated the race, exchanging the leads throughout the event. Recently crowned European champion Sjinkie Knegt (NED) finished the event in third place, and in doing so, took the lead in the World Cup classification for the distance. Shaolin Sandor Liu (HUN) and Patrick Duffy (CAN) finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Racing resumes tomorrow with the Ladies and Men 500 m, the second 1500 m event for both the Ladies and Men, and the Relay finals. The teams advancing in Ladies 3000m Relay final are Canada, France, Italy and Netherlands; in the Men’s 5000m Relay, China, Hungary, Korea and Netherlands, will be competing in the final.