Lausanne, Switzerland

#ShortTrackSkating

Short Track Speed Skating fans were treated to a rare spectacle in January 2020 as the Republic of Korea’s Choi Min Jeong reduced her rivals to mere spectators at the ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Montreal, Canada.

The two-time Olympic and 12-time ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Champion powered her way to five gold medals in five events with the Ladies’ 3000m Superfinal neatly illustrating the extent of her dominance. Backed by the confidence of having long sewn up the overall title, Choi made a move just two laps into the final individual Ladies’ event.

Choi Min Jeong KOR FCSTSSC 2020 International Skating Union ISU 1193402136

Choi Min Jeong (KOR) at the ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2020©International Skating Union (ISU)

“I didn’t expect to have it my way like that,” the Korean told the ISU, after lapping the field twice and finishing an extraordinary 17 seconds clear of her compatriot Kim Alang, who took silver.

 

“To be honest, I didn’t think or plan that. I just went and couldn’t believe no one went with me.”

Alyson Charles CAN Choi Min Jeong KOR Courtney Lee Sarault CAN FCSTSSC 2020 ISU 1193180632

Alyson Charles (CAN), Choi Min Jeong (KOR) and Courtney Lee Sarault (CAN) at the ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2020©International Skating Union (ISU)

Powerful, elegant and in utter control, no one had been able to live with Choi from the first gun. The PyeongChang 2018 1500m gold medalist even prevailed in the Ladies’ 500m, one of the races of the Championships. Facing some of North America’s best sprinters in Alyson Charles (CAN), Courtney Lee Sarault (CAN) and 2019 ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating 500m Champion Maame Biney (USA), Choi appeared to be up against it. But, trusting her racing instincts, the 21-year-old glided past the lot of them on the final bend.

Choi added comfortable victories in the 1000m and 1500m before, to no one’s surprise, proving the difference in a thrilling 3000m Relay final. Neck-and-neck throughout with Canada, Choi waited until her final sprint on the ice to power away from the home favorites, leaving her teammates with a smooth run-in.

Choi Min Jeong KOR Relay FCSTSSC 2020 International Skating Union ISU 1193406095

Choi Min Jeong (KOR) at the ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2020©International Skating Union (ISU)

It all added up to an overall win for Choi by a staggering margin of 89 points. The worrying thing for her rivals is that she rated herself at just “70-80 percent” in Montreal.