Kim Min-sun ends ISU short track season in second place

Kim Min-sun competes during the women's second 500 meters at the International Skating Union World Cup Speed Skating in Quebec City, Canada on Sunday. [EPA/YONHAP]

Kim Min-sun finished second in the overall 2023-24 International Skating Union (ISU) Speed Skating World Cup standings for the women's 500 meters after taking silver in the finale on Sunday.

At the race held in Quebec City, Canada, Kim came in at 37.91 seconds, just 0.2 seconds behind gold medalist Femke Kok of the Netherlands.

Sunday’s silver medal was Kim’s second medal at the sixth event of the ISU World Cup, having edged out Kok by 0.01 second in the first 500-meter race to claim gold on Saturday.

An ISU World Cup season consists of six events and runs over three months.

In the 2023-24 season that ran from Nov. 10, 2023 through Sunday, Kim won eight medals in total.

In 10 races across the six events, she won three gold, three silver and two bronze medals and earned 514 standing points, just eight points behind No. 1 Erin Jackson of the United States.

Kim also broke Korean speed skating legend Lee Sang-hwa’s record in the 1000-meter race at the fifth event of the ISU World Cup on Jan. 29 with a time of 1:13.42 — 0.37 seconds faster than Lee’s record — even though she failed to win a medal in that race.

Kim has consistently shone on the international stage.

In the 2022-23 ISU World Cup season, she won seven medals — five gold and two silver — and she has won six medals at the Four Continents Speed Skating Championships since 2020.

The 24-year-old also made her Olympic debut at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, but failed to medal. Lee won a silver in the women’s 500 meters at the Games that year.

Kim may follow in footsteps of Lee, as she continues to rise to bigger prominence on the international stage. The 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy may be a chance for her to win her first Olympic medal.

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