S. Korean star captures 2nd gold at Short Track World Cup

SEOUL, Nov. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Choi Min-jeong captured her second gold medal at the ongoing International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup Short Track Speed Skating on Sunday.

Choi was crowned the women's 1,000 meters champion at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul on the last day of the competition. Kim Boutin of Canada finished in second, followed by Yara van Kerkhof of the Netherlands.

Choi had won the 1,500m gold medal along with silver in the 500m on Saturday.

Choi's teammate Shim Suk-hee finished fourth in the 1,000m after a collision with Elise Christie of Britain.

Later in the men's 1,000m final, Hwang Dae-heon earned silver for his second medal of the competition.

He finished just behind Shaolin Sandor Liu of Hungary in the final. On Saturday, Hwang won silver in the 1,500m.

The youngest member of the South Korean men's team at 18, Hwang is so far the only male medalist for the country.

The finals for the women's 3,000m relay and the men's 5,000m relay will wrap up the competition later Sunday. South Korea has reached both finals.

This is the final World Cup of the season and also the last qualifying event for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

A total of 110 Olympic spots, 55 each for men and women, are up for grabs here, and quota places will be determined based on countries' results at World Cup races. The three best results out of four World Cups in each event will be considered for Olympic qualification.

In the 500m and 1,000m for both men and women, 32 quota spots are up for grabs. In the 1,500m for both genders, the maximum is 36. And eight teams apiece will compete in the men's 5,000m relay and women's 3,000m relay.

In individual races, a country can have a maximum three skaters each.

As the Olympic host, South Korea was assured five men and five women in all races at PyeongChang 2018 but would only have been able to send one skater each in those races.

And as the longtime short track powerhouse, South Korea clinched maximum spots in all races on merit thanks to another strong World Cup season.

South Korea leads all countries with 21 Olympic short track gold medals all-time.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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