Kim Gil-ri (19-Seongnam City Hall) proved once again that she is the next big thing in Korean women’s short track.
Kim won gold in both the first and second races of the women’s 1500 meters at the fourth edition of the 2023-2024 International Ice Skating Union (ISU) Short Track World Cup in Mokdong, Seoul, on Feb. 15-17.
Kim crossed the finish line first in 2:25.785 in the first race on Saturday and then stood on top in 2:23.746 in the second race on Sunday.
After the race, Kim said, “I am overwhelmed and happy to have won my first individual multi-title at the World Cup in Seoul.
There was a lot of physical pressure, but I think I did my best for my goal.”
Kim won a total of four medals at the Games, including bronze in the 2000-meter mixed relay on Saturday and silver in the 3000-meter women’s relay on Sunday.
In both of her gold medal races, Kim made last-minute spurts from the outside of the track to turn the tables.
In the first race, she moved into the lead with six laps to go, and in the second, she picked off one competitor per lap to take the top spot with two laps to go. “
To go around the outside and overtake, it takes more energy than the guys on the inside, and speed is also important, so I increased my workouts (in practice) to stay fit,” Kim said.
Kim, who competed in the World Cup series for the first time since last season (2022-2023), was the ace in the hole, taking the throne vacated by national standout Choi Min-jung (Seongnam City Hall) to recharge her batteries.
After winning her first individual gold medal in the 1500 meters at last season’s second edition, Kim has not missed a medal in the 1500 meters at World Cups 1-3 this season.
Seo Ira (Hwaseong City Hall-31), who retired from the national team in 2021 but returned the following year, won a valuable silver medal in the men’s 500 meters.
The South Korean national team did not win a single medal in the men’s or women’s 500 meters at the first three World Cups this season, behind Europe and China.
Seo moved to the inside with two laps to go and took the lead, but was pushed to second place by China’s Liu Xiaowang, who moved to the inside just before the finish line. 카지노
His time of 41.205 was just 0.009 seconds behind Xiao Wang (41.196).
Seo said, “After six years, I won a medal in the individual event at an international competition.
I was disappointed to finish second by a small margin, but I am very satisfied and happy to have won my first individual medal in Korea,” she smiled.
The national team won a total of eight medals at the fourth edition, including three gold, four silver, and one bronze.
In addition to Seo, Park Ji-won (Seoul Metropolitan Government) won gold (Men’s 1500m race 1) and silver (Men’s 1500m race 2), and Hwang Dae-heon (Gangwon Province) won silver (Men’s 1000m).
