Shanghai / China

Racing resumed today in Shanghai (CHN) for the fourth stop of the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series 2015/16 with the Ladies and Men’s 1000 m and 1500 m events.

Valerie Maltais (CAN) and Yoon-Gy Kwak (KOR) top the podium in the 1000 m

Valerie Maltais earned her first individual World Cup gold medal of the season with a win in the Ladies 1000 m event. Maltais took the lead with three laps to go, in a race that needed to be re-started. In the first race, three skaters fell as a result of Chunyu Qu (CHN) attempting a pass that caused the fall. Qu was given a penalty and the race began a second time without her. Suk Hee Shim received a penalty in the second race, allowing Suzanna Schulting (NED) to finish in second place. Minjeong Choi (KOR) retains the leads in the World Cup classification for the distance.

On the Men’s side, Yoon-Gy Kwak earned a gold medal in the event, passing Charle Cournoyer (CAN) with one lap to go. Cournoyer held on to finish in second place, while Semen Elistratov (RUS) finished in third. Samuel Girard of Canada was the other skater in the race, and finished fourth. Elistratov maintains his lead in the World Cup classification for the distance.

Minjeong Choi (KOR) and Charles Hamelin (CAN) earn gold in the first 1500 m

Minjeong Choi dominated the Ladies’ 1500 m event and crossed the line first in the distance for the third consecutive time this season. The win allows Choi to take the lead from her teammate Suk Hee Shim in the World Cup classification. Jiaying Tao (CHN) gave the fans something to cheer about with a second place finish. Charlotte Gilmartin (GBR) took the third and final podium spot. Qi Yin (CHN) and Anna Seidel (GER) finished in fourth and fifth place respectively.

On the Men’s side, Charles Hamelin (CAN) claimed his fourth gold medal of the season with a win in the 1500 m event. Hamelin held off the challenges of World and European Champion Sjinkie Knegt (NED). The second place finish allows Knegt to maintain his lead in the World Cup classification. Se Yeong Park (KOR) finished in third place, followed by his teammate Yi Ra Seo and Sebastien Lepape of France

Racing resumes tomorrow with the Ladies and Men 500 m and the second 1000 m events. The teams advancing in Ladies 3000m Relay final are China, Canada, Korea and the Netherlands; in the Men’s 5000m Relay, Hungary, China, Canada and Italy will be competing in the final.