SEOUL, South Korean teen short track sensation Kim Gil-li grabbed a gold and a bronze at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup Short Track Speed Skating event on home ice Saturday.
Kim, 19, won the first of two women’s 1,500-meter finals at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul, edging out Corinne Stoddard of the United States.
Kim Gil-li of South Korea (L) celebrates after winning the women’s 1,500-meter gold medal at the International Skating Union World Cup Short Track Speed Skating at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul on Dec. 16, 2023.
Kim picked up 100 World Cup ranking points and continues to lead the overall standings with 715 points for the season, 35 ahead of Kristen Santos-Griswold of the United States.
Kim has now won at least one gold medal in all four ISU World Cup competitions so far this season.
On the men’s side, Park Ji-won claimed gold in the first of two 1,500m finals, finishing ahead of William Dandjinou of Canada.
Park, the men’s World Cup overall champion last season, climbed to second place in this season’s standings with 556 points, 17 back of Steven Dubois of Canada.
Dubois beat South Korea’s Hwang Dae-heon by 0.014 second for gold in the men’s 1,000m.
Park Ji-won of South Korea (R) celebrates after winning the men’s 1,500-meter gold medal at the International Skating Union World Cup Short Track Speed Skating at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul on Dec. 16, 2023.
Park and Kim later teamed up with Hwang and Shim Suk-hee for bronze in the mixed 2,000m relay.
South Korea was penalized in the final when Park collided with a Dutch skater on the last curve, and the Netherlands, Italy and the United States did a re-race.
The U.S. team was penalized then, and that left South Korea and the U.S. as the co-bronze medalists.
The ISU World Cup, first in South Korea in six years, concludes Sunday with finals in the men’s and women’s 500m, 1,500m, women’s 3,000m relay and men’s 5,000m relay.
Source: Yonhap News Agency