Korean speed skaters win three golds at WC

Korean short-track speed skaters won three gold medals at the 2011-12 ISU Short-Track Speed Skating World Cup in Moscow on Saturday, with Kwak Yoon-gy claiming his fifth gold of the series.

At the fifth event of the World Cup, Kwak, 23, won the 1000-meter race at 1 minute, 28.996 seconds, beating compatriot Noh Jin-kyu by more than a second. China’s Liang Wenhao took third.

It was Kwak’s third consecutive gold in the 1000 meters. The 2010 Vancouver Olympics silver medalist has been winning the event since the World Cup in Nagoya, Japan, last December.

In the 1500-meter event, Korea’s Lee Jung-su won in the men’s race, while Cho Ha-ri topped the women’s race. Lee finished the event in a time of 2:18.26 seconds to beat American John Henry Krueger and another Korean, Lee Ho-seok. Cho clocked in at 2:31.162 and edged compatriot Lee Eun-byul by just 0.61 seconds in the women’s event.

Meanwhile, former Olympic champion Viktor Ahn, formerly known as Ahn Hyun-soo, faced Korean players for the first time since changing his nationality to Russian during the 5000-meter relay event, but failed to qualify for the final. Korea finished 6:53.673 and advanced to the finals in first place.

[kjoo@joongang.co.kr]