Choi Min-jeong dominates at ISU World Championships

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Choi Min-jeong dominates at ISU World Championships

Choi Min-jeong celebrates winning the women's 3000-meter relay at the ISU World Short Track Championships 2022 in Montreal, Canada on Sunday. [EPA/YONHAP]

Choi Min-jeong celebrates winning the women's 3000-meter relay at the ISU World Short Track Championships 2022 in Montreal, Canada on Sunday. [EPA/YONHAP]

 
Choi Min-jeong dominated at the ISU World Short Track Championships 2022 in Montreal, Canada over the weekend, winning three of four individual gold medals to take the overall tournament champion title. Korea also took gold in both the men's and women's relay events.
 
Choi took first place in every event except the women's 500 meters, where a difficult semifinal pushed her into Final B.
 
In the women's 1,000 meters, Choi finished in first place with a time of 1 minute and 27.956 seconds, narrowly beating Kim Boutin of Canada to take gold. Choi finished the race half a second faster than at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where she took silver in the event behind Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands. Schulting was unable to complete at the Worlds after contracting Covid-19.
 
Korea's Seo Whi-min also made it to the final, finishing fourth with a time of 1 minute and 29.662 seconds.
 
Choi finished the 1,500 meters with a time of 2 minutes and 23.594 seconds, again narrowly beating Boutin. Choi, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the event, had slipped behind Boutin in the semifinal, but came back with a vengeance to take the title when it really matters. Seo also made it to the final, taking bronze with a time of 2 minutes and 24.455 seconds, while Shim Suk-hee finished fifth with a time of 2 minutes and 25.348 seconds.
 
Choi Min-jeong, center, Seo Whi-min, right, and Kim Boutin pose with their medals for the 1,500-meter final at the ISU World Short Track Championships 2022 in Montreal, Canada on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

Choi Min-jeong, center, Seo Whi-min, right, and Kim Boutin pose with their medals for the 1,500-meter final at the ISU World Short Track Championships 2022 in Montreal, Canada on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

 
The tournament marked Shim's return to the national team for the first time since October last year, after she was investigated and later suspended for insulting her teammates during the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. 
 
Choi and Seo also both medaled in the 3,000-meter superfinal, which is open to the top eight racers in the points standing. Choi finished first with a time of 5 minutes and 5.641 seconds, followed by Boutin with a time of 5 minutes and 5.734 seconds and Seo on 5 minutes and 6.840 seconds. Shim finished seventh with a time of 5 minutes and 10.304 seconds.
 
Lee June-seo, right, Liu Shaoang of Hungary, center, and Pascal Dion of Canada pose with their overall classification medals at the ISU World Short Track Championships 2022 in Montreal, Sunday on Sunday. Lee finished third overall. [AP/YONHAP]

Lee June-seo, right, Liu Shaoang of Hungary, center, and Pascal Dion of Canada pose with their overall classification medals at the ISU World Short Track Championships 2022 in Montreal, Sunday on Sunday. Lee finished third overall. [AP/YONHAP]

 
In the men's individual events, Lee June-seo took silver in the 1,000 meters with a time of 1 minute and 25.529 seconds, followed closely by Kwak Yoon-gy in the bronze medal spot with a time of 1 minute and 25.662 seconds. Lee also took silver in the 3,000-meter superfinal.
 
The men's team had to compete without two key team members in Montreal after 1,500-meter gold medalist Hwang Dae-heon and Beijing team relay member Park Jang-hyuk both tested positive for Covid-19.
 
Kwak Yoon-gy of Korea celebrates after winning the gold medal in the men's 5,000-meter relay final at the ISU World Short Track Championships 2022 in Montreal, Canada on Sunday. [EPA/YONHAP]

Kwak Yoon-gy of Korea celebrates after winning the gold medal in the men's 5,000-meter relay final at the ISU World Short Track Championships 2022 in Montreal, Canada on Sunday. [EPA/YONHAP]

 
Despite the absences, Korea took gold in both the men's and women's relays. The men's team of Kwak, Lee, Han Seung-soo and Park In-wook finished the 5,000-meter relay with a time of 6 minutes and 56.709 seconds, narrowly beating the Netherlands to first place.
 
In the women's 3,000-meter relay, Choi, Seo, Shim and Kim A-lang finished with a time of 4 minutes and 9.683 seconds, again narrowly beating a Canadian team led by Boutin.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]
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