Lim Jong-eon triumphs with two gold medals

South Korean short track speed skater Lim Jong-eon, 18, captured two gold medals in his senior debut at the first stop of the International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track World Tour.

Lim Jong-eon, along with teammates Hwang Dae-heon, 26, Lee Jun-seo, 25, and Shin Dong-min, 29, won the 5,000-meter relay final in Montreal on Oct. 13, finishing in six minutes, 50.781 seconds. China took second at 6:51.160, followed by Italy at 7:03.224. As the anchor, Lim held off China’s Liu Shaoang to secure the victory. He added this gold to his men’s 1,500-meter win the previous day, claiming two golds in his World Tour debut.

“I can’t believe we won the relay,” Lim said, adding that the team felt like family and that an incredible season lies ahead.

Earlier, he earned silver in the men’s 1,000 meters, leading until Italy’s Pietro Sighel overtook him in the final lap. Lim said the race taught him he needs a near-perfect performance to win gold.

Lim’s strong debut drew praise from Canada’s William Dandjinou, 24, last season’s overall World Tour champion. Dandjinou said he expected Lim to be a threat once joining the national team and added that the skater is performing even better than anticipated. Dandjinou won the men’s 500 meters but did not reach the finals in the 1,500 or 1,000 meters.

On the women’s side, Kim Gil-li, 21, added another silver to her 1,000-meter medal by finishing second in the 1,500 meters with a time of 2:22.217. The second leg of the ISU Short Track World Tour will also be held in Montreal next week.


Bo-Mi Im bom@donga.com