The ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series 2014/15 resumed today in Seoul, Korea with the Ladies and Men’s 500 m, the Ladies 1500 m, the Men’s 3000 m and the Ladies and Men’s Relay events.
Kexin Fan (CHN) wins her fourth 500 m event of the season
Kexin Fan of China won her fourth 500 m event of the season, with yet another dominant performance today. She led the race from start to finish, forcing the others to chase her. Ji-Soo Seon of Korea finished second, while Elise Christie of Great Britain was third. The other skater in the event was Sofia Prosvirnova of Russia. Kexin Fan (CHN) extends her lead in the World Cup classification for the distance, while Ji-Soo Seon moves into second place. Yue Lin is in third place overall.
On the Men’s side, Yi Ra Seo (KOR) won the event, after taking the lead midway through the race. Seo finished ahead of Sjinkie Knegt of the Netherlands, while Charles Hamelin (CAN) finished third. Both Knegt and Hamelin managed to move up one position on the last lap, after they both passed Dajing Wu of China. Despite finishing ninth overall this weekend, Migunov remains in the lead of the World Cup classification for the distance. Dajing Wu moves into second place, while John-Henry Krueger drops to third place overall.
Minjeong Choi (KOR) wins the 1500 m event
The Ladies 1500 m event was won by Minjeong Choi of Korea, earning her second win of the season. Yutong Han (CHN) who led a few laps towards the end of the race, crossed the finish line in second place, ahead of Do Hee No (KOR). The win allows Choi to move into the lead of the World Cup classification for the distance; Yutong Han moves into second place followed by Suk Hee Shim of Korea.
Korean podium sweep in the Men’s 3000 m
The Korean fans were given more reasons to cheer today, as their skaters swept the podium in the 3000 m event. Jung-Su Lee (KOR) finished well ahead of the pack, crossing the line with a lead of just over seven seconds. His teammate Yoon-Gy Kwak claimed second, edging out his countrymen Da Woon Sin who claimed third place. Cole Krueger (USA) and Guang Chen (CHN) who finished fourth and fifth place respectively completed the top five.
Korean winning streak comes to an end in the Ladies and Men’s Relay events
Korea’s winning streak in the both the Ladies and Men’s Relay events came to an end today. Ladies’ 3000 m Relay was won by China, who the lead with three laps to go. Korea was a very close second, while Russia finished in third place. Korea maintains the lead in the World Cup classification for the distance.
The Men’s 5000 m Relay was won by the Netherlands, who finished ahead of Canada (second place) and China (third place). Korea maintains its lead in the World Cup classification, despite its fourth place finish today.
The ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series takes a break for the holiday season and resumed in the New Year in Dresden (GER) on February 6-8, 2015.