The fourth stop of the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series 2015/16 concluded today in Shanghai (CHN) with the Ladies and Men’s 500 m, second 1000 m and the Relay events.
China claims gold in Ladies and Men 500 m events
Kexin Fan of China won her third consecutive 500 m event with another dominating race. Fan led the race from start to finish and extends her lead in the World Cup classification for the distance. Marianne St-Gelais (CAN) finished in second place, while Chunyu Qu (CHN) finished third. Minjeong Choi (KOR) was the other skater in the race and finished fourth.
On the Men’s side, Dajing Wu (CHN) finished first to give China its second gold medal of the day in the 500 m events. Wu took advantage of the fact his teammate Jingnan Shi had received a penalty, even thought Shi had lead the majority of the race. Sjinkie Knegt (NED) finished second while Samuel Girard (CAN) finished third. The win allows Wu to take the lead in the World Cup classification for the distance.
Ziwei Ren (CHN) provides host country with third gold medal of the day with win in 1500 m
Suk Hee Shim took the lead in the Ladies 1500 m event with two laps to go and held on for the win. Shim took the lead from Valerie Maltais (CAN) who crossed the finish line in second place. Shim’s teammate Alang Kim claimed the third and final podium spot. Suzanne Schulting (NED) finished fourth while Yize Zang (CHN) finished fifth. The win moves Shim into the lead of the World Cup classification for the distance.
On the Men’s side, Ziwei Ren (CHN) dominated the 1500 m event. He held off the challenges of the other five skaters and led the last eight laps of the race to claim the win. Jiwon Park (KOR) was second while Yoon-Gy Kwak (KOR) was third. Tianyu Han (CHN), who finished fourth, was edged out at the finish line by Kwak for that third podium spot. Semen Elistratov (RUS) finished fifth. Despite not competing in the distance today, Sjinkie Knegt (NED) maintains his lead in the World Cup classification for the distance.
Hungary earns historical first gold medal in Men’s Relay
Hungary claimed its first ever World Cup gold medal in the Men’s Relay event in today’s 5000 m Relay final. Hungary took advantage of a contact between China and Canada and led the second half of the race for the win. Italy earned its first Men’s Relay medal since the 2010/11 season. Canada managed to get back for a third place finish. Despite finishing fourth, China maintain its lead in the World Cup classification.
On the Ladies’ side, Korea maintains its perfect record: four wins in as many World Cups. The team from Canada finished second, while the Netherlands finished third. China was unfortunately given a penalty. Korea extend its lead in the World Cup classification.
The ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series takes a break for the holiday season and will resume in Dresden (GER) on February 5-7, 2016. In the meantime, Sochi (RUS) will host the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships on January 22-24, 2016, while Sofia (BUL) will host the ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships the following week.