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Choi Min-jeong wins gold in women’s 1,500m short track at world championships

Published: 17 Mar. 2025, 11:00

Choi Min-jeong, front, competes in the women's 1500-meter final at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in China on March 16. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

Korean short track star Choi Min-jeong claimed gold in the women's 1,500 meters at the world championships in China on Sunday.

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Choi held off Courtney Sarault of Canada for Korea's first gold medal at the International Skating Union World Short Track Championships at Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing. Another Korean skater, Kim Gil-li, got the bronze medal.

This was Choi's 13th career world title. She has been the world overall champion four times, most recently in 2022.

Choi had won the 2022 Olympic gold medal in the 1,500m at the same Beijing rink.

Korea was shut out of medals on Saturday, with Choi placing fifth in the women's 1,000m and Park Ji-won finishing fourth in the men's 1,500m.

Choi and Kim both stayed in the back of the seven-skater pack early in the 13.5-lap race. Then with seven laps remaining, Choi moved into the lead, with Kim stuck in fifth place.

Choi and Sarault were neck and neck for the top spot with three laps left, and Kim barely avoided getting wiped out as three skaters fell with two laps to go.

Choi stayed just in front of Sarault as they crossed the line, and Kim stayed on her feet to get the bronze by a comfortable margin.

Neither Choi nor Kim reached the final in the women's 500m later in the day.

Also Sunday, no Korean qualified for the men's 1,000m final. In the semifinals, Park Ji-won and Jang Sung-woo both received penalties for rule violations, while Kim Gun-woo finished third in his heat when only the top two advanced to the final.

In the men's 5,000m relay final, Park and Jang teamed up with Kim Gun-woo and Lee Jung-su for the bronze medal behind Canada and China.

Korea failed to qualify for the finals in the mixed 2,000m relay and the women's 3,000m relay.

As the only individual gold medalist on the women's team, the Korea Skating Union will award Choi an automatic spot on the national team for the 2025-26 season, meaning she will compete in her third consecutive Olympic Games next February in Italy.

Choi collected three gold and two silver medals over the past two Winter Games.

No Korean man won an individual title in Beijing.

Yonhap