Minsk / Belarus

Gettyimages 634726570Yang Liu (CHN) and Dae Hwang Heon (KOR) win the first 1000 m of the weekend

Yang Liu (CHN) won the first 1000 m event of the weekend, in a race that required a photo-finish review to determine the winner. Yara van Kerkhof (NED) had crossed the line in second place however received a penalty, thus allowing Shione Kaminaga (JPN) to claim second place. Cynthia Mascitto (ITA) finished in third place. With two wins during the World Cup 2016/17 Series, Min Jeong Choi (KOR) leads the classification for the distance with 28,000 points. Suzanne Schulting (NED) has 27,520 points with two silver and one bronze win and Elise Christie (GBR) sits in third with 21,678 points and two wins to her credit for the distance.  

On the Men’s side, Dae Heon Hwang (KOR) moved into the lead with two laps to go to earn the win in the first 1000 m event. Sjinkie Knegt (NED) finished a very close second, and Zhumagaziyev Nurbergen (KAZ) finished in third place. Joon Chun Kim (KOR) and Denis Nikisha (KAZ) both received penalties in the race. With one win during the World Cup 2016/17 Series, Shaoang Liu (HUN) leads the classification for the distance with 28,669 points. He is followed by two Korean skaters: Dae Heon Hwang (26,000 points) and Kyoung Won Lim (22,619 points). The Ladies and Men World Cup title for the distance will be determined tomorrow.

Double 1500 m gold for Korea: Ah Rum Noh (Ladies) and Hyo Benn Lee (Men)

In the Ladies 1500 m, Ah Rum Noh (KOR) improved on her performance in Dresden (GER) where she finished second in the distance: a week later, she finishes first. Ekaterina Efremenkova (RUS) finished in second place while Lucia Peretti (ITA) was third. This was Peretti’s first individual career World Cup medal. Hanne Desmet (BEL) finished in fourth place. Charlotte Gilmartin (GBR) and Suzanne Schulting (NED) both received penalties in the race, while Yutong Han (CHN) did not finish the race. Suk Hee Shim (KOR) wins the World Cup title for the distance with 40,000 points and four wins this season. Suzanne Schulting finishes second with 25,716 points and Kim Boutin (CAN) ranks third with 24,747 points.

On the Men’s side, Korea swept the podium with Hyo Been Lee finishing first, followed by his teammate Kyung Hwan Hong. Yong Jin Lim took the last podium spot for Korea. Vladislav Bykanov (ISR) finished in fourth, followed by John-Henry Krueger (USA). Guillaume Bastille (CAN) finished in sixth place. Sjinkie Knegt (NED) wins the World Cup title for the distance with 44,400 points: he has three wins and two other podium finishes this season. With two wins, Jung Su Lee (KOR) finishes second (35,217 points) while Semen Elistratov (RUS) ranks third with 28,059 points.

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: Russia, Italy, Korea and Canada. Tomorrow’s Men’s 5000 m Relay final will see Russia, Kazakhstan, Netherlands and China compete.