Korean skaters capture two golds at World Tour

South Korean short track speed skaters Lim Jong-eon and Kim Gil-li each won gold at the final World Tour event of the Olympic season.

Lim Jong-eon won the men’s 1,000 meters at the International Skating Union World Tour 4 in Dordrecht, Netherlands, on Dec. 1, finishing in 1 minute, 25.877 seconds. It was his second World Tour gold, following his victory in the men’s 1,500 meters at the season-opening event. Lim, 18, said his form had dipped after the first tournament and that this meet was his final chance to demonstrate his ability before the Olympics. He added that he was thrilled to take home another gold.

Kim Gil-li followed with a victory in the women’s 1,500 meters, finishing in 2 minutes, 26.306 seconds. The 21-year-old earned her second consecutive gold in the event after winning the third stop of the World Tour. Choi Min-jeong, 27, who claimed victory in the second leg of the same distance, took bronze. Lim, Kim, and Choi later joined Hwang Dae-heon, 26, to win bronze in the mixed 2,000-meter relay.

With the Winter Olympics set for February in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, the World Tour season wrapped up with the fourth event. South Korea ended the campaign with nine gold, eight silver and four bronze medals, finishing second overall behind Canada’s 15 gold, seven silver and nine bronze medals.

The Crystal Globe trophies for the top male and female skaters of the season went to Canadian athletes William Dandjinou, 24, and Courtney Sarault, 25. South Korea has now gone two consecutive seasons without a Crystal Globe winner. Last season, the team missed the fifth event because of the Harbin Winter Asian Games. This season, the skaters competed in every event but still fell short of producing a season champion.

The International Skating Union is scheduled to notify national federations on Dec. 12 of their Olympic quota allocations, with a maximum of three entries allowed per discipline. South Korea is expected to earn only two spots each in the men’s and women’s 500 meters, its weakest distance. The team also received two entries per gender in the 500 meters at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

The national team will return to South Korea on Dec. 2 and officially begin preparations for the Olympics. Kim said South Korea has always been a strong team at the Olympics and added that while she feels confident, she plans to train even harder because nothing is ever perfect.


Bo-Mi Im bom@donga.com