Canadians at the top of the podium in the Ladies and Men’s 1000 m
Marianne St-Gelais earned her second individual World Cup gold medal of the season with a win in the Ladies 1000 m event. St-Gelais has been on podium at each of the five World Cup stops this season. She led the race from start to finish. Jiaying Tao (CHN) finished in second place, while Petra Jaszapati (HUN) finished in third place. Jaszapati earned her first individual Wold Cup medal in career. Kimberly Goetz (USA) finished in fourth place, while Jamie Macdonald (CAN) received a penalty in the final race. Despite not competing in the event today, Minjeong Choi (KOR) retains the lead in the World Cup classification for the distance.
On the Men’s side, Charles Hamelin (CAN) finished in first place, for the second time this season in this distance. Hamelin took the lead from his teammate Charle Cournoyer with five laps to go, and held on for the win. Recently crowned as the ISU European Short Track Champion, Semen Elistratov (RUS) finished in second place. Cournoyer ended up in third place. Dan Iwasa (JPN) and Shaoang Liu (HUN) finished in fourth and fifth place respectively. Elistratov maintains his lead in the World Cup classification for the distance.
Elise Christie (GBR) and Jiwon Park (KOR) earn gold in the first 1500 m
Elise Christie (GBR) won the Ladies’ 1500 m event, earning her first medal in the distance of the season. Christie held off a pair of Korean skaters to claim the win. Minjeong Choi (KOR) and Alang Kim (KOR) finished in second and third place respectively. Namasthee Harris-Gauthier (CAN) finished in fourth place while Yang Yang (CHN) finished fifth. Minjeong Choi regains the lead in the World Cup classification for the distance, as a result of her second place finish.
On the Men’s side, Jiwon Park (KOR) finished ahead of his teammate Se Yeong Park, earning a third podium finish in the distance for the season. Sjinkie Knegt (NED) finished in third place, allowing him to extend his lead in the World Cup classification. Yoon-Gy Kwak (KOR) was awarded the fourth place finish as a result of penalties handed to Shaolin Sandor Liu (HUN) and Francois Hamelin (CAN).
Racing resumes tomorrow with the Ladies and Men 500 m and the second 1500 m events. The teams advancing in Ladies 3000 m Relay final are Italy, Russia, Hungary and Japan; in the Men’s 5000 m Relay, Canada, Russia, Korea and the United States will be competing in the final.