Gangneung / Republic of Korea

Gangneung Ice Arena 630130378The fourth round of the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series 2016/17 began today at the newly completed Gangneung Ice Area, which will be the home of the short track speed skating events at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. The racing events today included the following: Ladies and Men’s 1000 m (1) and 1500 m finals, and the relay semi-finals.

 

 

Wcstsskorm1000m 630129990Nurbergen Zhumagaziyev (KAZ) wins first career individual World Cup event

Nurbergen Zhumagaziyev (KAZ) won his first career individual World Cup medal with a first-place finish in the Men’s 1000 m (1) final. He took the lead from Pascal Dion (CAN) with three laps to go. Dion eventually crossed the finish line in second place, ahead of his teammate Patrick Duffy. A trio of Korean skaters finished in the next three spots: Seung Soo Han (fourth), Kyung Hwan Hong (fifth) and Kyoung Won Lim (sixth). Lim maintains his lead in the World Cup rankings for the distance.

Wcstsskorelise Christie 630129888On the Ladies’ side, Elise Christie (GBR) won the first 1000 m final of the weekend. She took the lead with three laps to go, and crossed the finish line ahead of Min Jeong Choi (KOR). Marie-Eve Drolet (CAN) finished in third place, ahead of Rianne de Vries (NED). The second-place finish allows Choi to maintain her lead in the World Cup classification for the distance.

 

 

Wcstsskorl1500m 630129986Korea claims gold double in the 1500m: Suk Hee Shim (Ladies) and Jung Su Lee (Men)

Suk Hee Shim (KOR) won her fourth 1500 m final in as many World Cup events this season. She took the lead with five laps to go and finished ahead of a pair of Canadian skaters: Marianne St-Gelais (second) and Kim Boutin (third). Yihan Guo (CHN) finished in fourth place ahead of Hitomi Saito (JPN) and Geon Hee Kim (KOR). Charlotte Gilmartin (GBR) received a penalty in the race. The win allows Shim to further extend her lead in the World Cup classification for the distance.

Wcstsskorlee Jung Su 630130280On the Men’s side, Jung Su Lee (KOR) won the 1500 m final for a second consecutive weekend. He took the lead with just over a lap to go, finishing ahead of Sjinkie Knegt (NED). Semen Elistratov (RUS) crossed the finish line in third place, ahead of John-Henry Krueger (USA) who held the lead prior to Lee. Shaolin Sandor Liu (HUN) finished in fifth place ahead of Da Woon Sin (KOR) and Ruslan Zhakarov (RUS). The win allows Lee to move into the lead of the World Cup classification for the distance.

For full results of the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series 2016/17 please refer to http://shorttrack.sportresult.com/ and /en/speed-skating/series/isu-world-cup-speed-skating

Racing resumes tomorrow with the Ladies and Men 500 m and 1000 m (2) events. The teams advancing in Ladies 3000 m Relay are: Korea, Canada, Netherlands and China. Tomorrow’s Men’s 5000 m Relay final will see China, United States, Hungary, Korea and Canada competing.  

About ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating 2016/17 Series

The ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating circuit consists of six events across North America, Asia and Europe. For the third year the format of the Series will consist of one day of qualification and two days of World Cup Sessions which includes the Finals. At each competition the Men and Ladies Relay races will take place along with Men and Ladies individual races which will be held over 500m, 1000m and 1500m and single distances determine the winners. The series starts in Calgary (CAN) on November 4-6 and will move to Salt Lake City (USA) on November 11-13.  Almost a month later the Series will continue in Asia with Shanghai (CHN) on December 9-11 and move to Gangneung (KOR) on December 16-18 which will be the official test event for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang. After a long break the World Cup will pick up again in Europe, with the first stop in Dresden (GER) on February 3-5 and finally in Minsk (BLR) on February 10-12. The full ISU Calendar of Events is available here: /en/news-and-events/calendar-of-events

The ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series is available as a live stream on the ISU Skating Channel.  Please note that geoblocking may be required in certain territories http://livemanager.eurovision.edgesuite.net/isu/index.html