Republic of Korea continued their tremendous start to the men’s ISU Short Track World Cup season on Sunday, with Kim Gun Woo (KOR) winning a chaotic 1500m final to put himself at the top of the overall points standing.
Promising young Dutch skater Jens van ‘t Wout (NED), meanwhile, put a frustrating string of races at the Maurice-Richard Arena, Montreal, behind him to bag an impressive gold in the 1000m.
Van ‘t Wout breaks through
Jens van ‘t Wout was one of the revelations of last season: the Dutch flyer immediately delivered on the promise of a superb junior career, bustling to three individual golds, one in each distance.
He had started this term in Canada in slightly more frustrated fashion, missing out on finals and suffering some bad luck – but in the 1000m, against a quality line up, underlined that he will be a threat in 2023/24.
Olympic gold medallists Shaoang Liu (CHN) and Hwang Dae Heon (KOR) lined up as favourites for the race. Shaoang led the pack from the start, betting that nobody could top his raw power. He held off Hwang towards the end of the race, but as Felix Pigeon (POL) tried to capitalise on the duelling rivals, the Pole instead wiped out the Chinese racer.
Van ‘t Wout was the beneficiary, thundering through the gap. Hwang held on for silver and Lee Jeongmin (KOR) earned the bronze.
Jens van ‘t Wout (NED) turned his luck and form around to secure gold ahead of a quality field in the 1000m © ISU
“It was amazing, I knew it was a strong field, so I decided I would wait a bit longer at the back and set up my attack,” said Van ‘t Wout. “Then Felix and Shaoang had the crash and that set up a bit of room for me.
“It’s hard to say what would have happened without the crash, but I was about to attack. Anyway, I’m really happy.”
The Netherlands racer knows that he needs to up his game to repeat last year’s heroics.
“It’s a really strong field this season,” he said. “I’ve had to get used to the style of racing again, and the strength of it. Olympic and World Champions are back. But I’m starting to feel things out, feel what I can do and what I’m capable of.
“I think it’s good that I know what is in my legs. I had a good summer, working hard. I knew these guys were coming back, so I’d have to improve, and have more endurance.
“Endurance wise I might be even a little bit above some of them. But what they have is the racing experience. The placement in races, I still have to figure out where the best positions are.
“For them it is so much more natural. Blocking, passing, that comes with experience. But it’s great I get to race them, because it means I can learn from them. I can keep studying.”
Kim and Dubois battle for supremacy
The men’s 1500m was also a dogfight. Last season’s runaway ISU Crystal Globe winner, Park Ji Won (KOR), started as favourite – but the final gave every indication that this winter is not going to be as simple as the last one seemed for the Korean.
Park went to the front early, shadowed by Steven Dubois (CAN) and Kim Gun Woo (KOR). With two laps to go, Dubois attempted a pass – but it unbalanced both men, and Kim generated the velocity to capitalise. He powered through to cross the line first, with the Canadian second and Park third.
Kim won the 1000m last weekend in Montreal – his first gold since the 2018/19 season, when he won four – and has been performing solidly across the distances. The result puts him top of the ISU Crystal Globe standings with 430 points. Dubois is second with 330, and Park third with 326.
Kim Gun Woo (KOR) took the lead in the ISU Crystal Globe standings with victory in the 1500m - his second gold of the season © ISU
“I feel fantastic, I’m so happy to have this win after winning last week,” said Kim. “To be top of the points is great. I feel good and strong. If I keep training hard, I feel like I can win it.
“My teammate Park is very strong. He is my rival, but he’s also my friend and training mate, and we make each other better by training together.”
Dubois, meanwhile, can be both content with a start to the season on home ice in which he has constantly put himself in the mix for medals – and can bemoan his luck a little, as he has fallen victim to a fair share of fouls and collisions.
“I’ve been pretty good overall, and I’ve shown I can be there for wins,” said Dubois. “I’m not going to give up my spot that easily. Today I went for a win as well, like yesterday – it wasn’t a dangerous move, but it was a risk.
“I was happy to risk a medal to get a win. I’m racing good and I’ve got the legs, and when you take risks and don’t win, that’s part of Short Track. The mistakes will pay off eventually and I think I’ll get some gold medals.”
It’s all part of a bigger plan, said Dubois. “I want to try and take some risks during this quad. If I don’t do that now, I won’t win at the Olympic Games.
“I’d like to try and win the Crystal Globe, it’s a super prestigious trophy. I’m going to spread my distances, try to improve everywhere I can, and just do the best I can.” A fascinating battle lies ahead.
In the 5000m relay, China won gold, Canada took the silver, and Kazakhstan earned bronze.
The next ISU Short Track World Cup meeting is on 8 to 10 December in Beijing.
Short Track fans in the Montreal area can, however, look forward to another weekend of action next weekend: the ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships take place in Laval from 4 to 5 November – with big names from teams like Canada, Republic of Korea, Republic of China, Japan and USA all in action.
For full entry lists and further information about the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series, please visit webpage here.
All Media Accreditations details and deadlines for the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series can be found here.
World Cup Classification - Men
World Cup Classification - Women
World Cup Classification – Mixed Relay
Where to watch
Viewers will be able to watch the Saturday and Sunday afternoon (local time) World Cup sessions via their national broadcaster/channel.
For countries where there are no broadcasters and for the qualification races on Friday and repechage races (Saturday and Sunday morning), the ISU will offer a live stream with English commentary on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. You will find the full list on the Where to watch webpage here.
Only for the Friday qualification races and repechage races on Saturday and Sunday morning (local time), no geoblocking will apply.
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ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series events 2023/24:
Oct 20 - 22, 2023 Montréal /CAN
Oct 27 - 29, 2023 Montréal /CAN
Dec 08 - 10, 2023 Beijing /CHN
Dec 15 - 17, 2023 Seoul /KOR
Feb 09 - 11, 2024 Dresden /GER
Feb 16 - 18, 2024 Gdansk /POL
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About ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series
The ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2022. Launched in 1997/98, the Series usually consists of six events (four during an Olympic season) that take place in North America, Europe and Asia.
The competitions have a single distance character across nine distances (500, 1000 and 1500 meters for Women and Men, Women 3000 meters Team Relay, Men 5000 meters Team Relay and a Mixed Gender Relay over 2000 meters). In 2022, the series introduced an Overall World Classification based on an accumulation of points from all individual distances which ultimately determine a Combined Season Ranking and a Season Champion in the Women and Men categories. These Champions are awarded with the ISU World Cup Short Track Crystal Globe Trophy.
Each competition is held over three days (day 1 is dedicated to all Qualifying Rounds, days 2 and 3 consist of the last Qualifying Rounds followed by the World Cup sessions). For the Mixed Gender Relay Teams (2 Women & 2 Men), the Women 3000 meters Relay races and Men 5000 meters Relay races a maximum of four Skaters shall compete and must belong to the same ISU Member. For further information please visit isu.org.
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