 has won South Korea's first gold medal of the season.){kind=link}
Korean short-track speed skater Kim Gil Li (Seongnam City Hall) has won South Korea’s first gold medal of the season.
On Monday, Kim won the women’s 1500m final at the 2024-25 International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track World Cup season opener at Montreal’s Maurice Richard Arena in Quebec, Canada, with a time of 2 minutes 24.396 seconds.
With this victory, Kim delivered South Korea’s first gold medal of the season. A day earlier, Park Ji Won (Seoul City Hall) earned a silver in the men’s 1500m, finishing just 0.009 seconds behind Canada’s William Dandjinou, who clocked in at 2 minutes 18.607 seconds. The women’s 3000m relay team also secured a silver medal.
Kim, who preserved her energy in the early laps, surged into the lead with six laps to go. She held her position, successfully fending off a challenge from Hanne Desmet of Belgium to cross the finish line first.
Her teammate Choi Min Jeong (Seongnam City Hall) took the bronze with a time of 2 minutes 24.510 seconds, recovering from her fourth-place finish in the previous day’s 1000m.
Kim and Choi also claimed a silver medal in the mixed 2000m relay, alongside teammates Kim Geon-woo (Sports Toto) and Kim Tae-sung (Seoul City Hall).
Unfortunately, South Korea did not secure any additional medals in the men’s 1000m or women’s 500m, as no skaters advanced to the finals.
South Korea’s team claimed one gold, three silvers, and one bronze at the first event. They will now head to Salt Lake City, Utah, for the second World Cup event, scheduled from November 1 to 4.