Kim Min-sun narrowly misses podium at World Skating Championships

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Kim Min-sun narrowly misses podium at World Skating Championships

Kim Min-sun skates during the women's 1,000 meters at the International Skating Union's World Skating Championships at Thialf ice arena in Heerenveen, the Netherlands on Saturday [AP/YONHAP]

Kim Min-sun skates during the women's 1,000 meters at the International Skating Union's World Skating Championships at Thialf ice arena in Heerenveen, the Netherlands on Saturday [AP/YONHAP]

 
Speed skater Kim Min-sun finished in fourth place in the women’s 500 meters at the International Skating Union (ISU)’s World Skating Championships on Friday in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, missing the chance of winning her first world title medal.  
 
The 23-year-old skater finished the 500 meters with a time of 37.56 seconds, only 0.02 seconds behind bronze medalist Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands.  
 
Kim did not start the race in the best possible way, as she was outskated by her competitor Leerdam in Pair 11 just after the starting gun.
 
She managed to close the gap in the middle of the race, but fell behind Leerdam at the last moment, ultimately ceding the bronze medal to the Dutch skater.  
 
Kim was at a disadvantage stamina-wise, because she had raced all six events of the 2022-23 season’s ISU World Cup that ended last month, with Leerdam appearing in only five.  
 
Dutch skater Femke Kok won the gold medal with a time of 37.28 seconds, with Vanessa Herzog of Austria taking the silver with 37.33.
 
Beijing Olympic gold medalist Erin Jackson of the United States finished fifth with a time of 37.62 seconds — one spot below Kim.
 
Friday's finish marked Kim's best result at the tournament to date. Her previous best at the World Skating Championships was 15th place in the 2016-17 season.  
 
This is not the first time Kim has displayed significant improvements in her performance. She won six medals in the World Cup this season, despite having previously won one bronze in all preceding years.  
 
Kim performed incomparably well in the 2022-23 season’s World Cup as she managed five golds in the first five World Cup events, before marking the last race with a silver.  
 
During that run, Kim became the first Korean to win gold in the 500 meters since skating legend Lee Sang-hwa.  
 
She also managed some impressive times in all six events, with her best one being 36.96 seconds in the fourth race.  
 
The times and medals Kim managed in the World Cup have set her up as Lee's successor, although it will take some time before the young Korean is close to matching the veteran's success.
 
Lee, who retired in 2019, won 37 gold medals in the World Cup and earned three golds in the World Skating Championships as well as two golds in the 2010 and 2014 Olympics.  
 
Kim, on the other hand, has yet to win a medal in the Olympics, despite having raced in the tournament twice in 2018 and 2022.  
 
Kim ended the World Skating Championships on Saturday with an 11th place finish in the 1,000 meters with a time of 75.88 seconds.  
 
The World Skating Championships is the second most prominent tournament after the Olympics. The next event will take place in 2025 with the venue yet to be announced.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]
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