Published : Nov. 11, 2013 - 09:53
Korea’s Shim Suk-hee competes in the 1,000 meters on Sunday. (AFP-Yonhap News)
South Korean teenager Shim Suk-hee captured three titles at the recently concluded World Cup Short Track in Italy.
Shim swept up the women's 1,000 meters and the 3,000-meter relay in Torino on Sunday, the final day of the International Skating Union (ISU) competition. A day earlier, Shim had won the 1,500ｍ race.
This was the third leg of the four-event World Cup season. The final two legs also serve as the qualifying event for the Sochi Winter Games, with the results determining how many skaters each country can send to individual races.
Shim, 16, has now won at least two titles in nine consecutive World Cup events, dating back to last season. This season, she claimed three gold medals in the first leg in China in September, and then added two titles in the second leg in South Korea last month.
In the 1,000ｍ final on Sunday, Shim crossed the line first in 1:35.223 to lead a South Korean sweep of the podium. Kim A-lang finished second in 1:35.318. Park Seung-hi took the third place in 1:59.828, moving up a spot after Li Jianrou of China was disqualified.
The three Koreans teamed up to take the 3,000ｍ relay title in 4:10.600. The three, joined by Cho Ha-ri, edged out China (4:11.404) and Italy (4:11.844).
South Korea has now won the women's 3,000ｍ relay in all three World Cup events this season.
South Korean men were shut out of gold medals on Sunday, when the finals for the 1,000ｍ and 5,000ｍ relay were held. South Korea was knocked out of the relay quarterfinals on Friday and Sin Da-woon and Lee Han-bin were eliminated in the eighth finals, featuring 28 qualifiers from heats in the 1,000ｍ earlier Sunday.
On Saturday, Lee Han-bin won the 1,500ｍ race for South Korea's only title in Italy. The men were shut out of gold medals at the World Cup on home ice last month, after picking up just one gold medal in the first leg in September. (Yonhap News)