‘Park Ji-Won Sewoon’ Men’s performance is good, women’s is a classic… Short Track WC ‘Happiness Intersection’
The joys and sorrows of Korean male and female short track were mixed.
In the 2022/23 Short Track World Cup, which ended on the 13th after the 1st to 6th competitions were held for 3 months, Korea’s men’s national team teamed up with ace Park Ji-won and flew splendidly, while the women’s national team struggled with the rapid growth of European players.
The formula for the women’s national team to stand out more on the international stage did not work in this season’s World Cup.
Korea’s short track speed skating won 22 gold medals, 20 silver medals, and 17 bronze medals in six World Cups this season, surpassing the Netherlands (19 golds, 7 silvers, 6 bronzes) and Canada (15 golds, 14 silvers, 14 bronzes) and winning the most gold medals and medals. became the winning team.
This means that she has won 22 gold medals, exactly one-third of the total 66 gold medals.
However, the difference between male and female teams was not small. In the men’s event, Park Ji-won swept nine gold medals in the individual event and won the overall championship, while Hong Kyung-hwan, Kim Tae-seong, and Lee Jun-seo each won a gold medal. He also reached the top in the 1st and 6th competitions in the men’s 바카라5000m relay.
It is no exaggeration to say that the prospects for the Milan-Cortina Olympics with three years left were bright.
Despite last year’s Beijing Olympic 1500m gold medalist Hwang Dae-heon and veteran Kwak Yoon-ki choosing to recharge this season, the men’s national team showed Park Ji-won’s strength in the 1000m middle distance and 1500m long distance to show off his pride as a short track powerhouse.
Canada, led by Stephen Dubois and Pascal Dion, pursued with six gold medals (including relay) in the men’s division, but could not overcome the thick Korean players.
If Hwang Dae-heon and Kwak Yun-ki join this rising trend and compete in good faith, it is expected that it will be possible to have a power that no other country can surpass in the next Olympics.
On the other hand, in the women’s division, Kim Gil-ri, a rising star, won the women’s 1500m at the 2nd competition, the women’s 1500m second race at the 5th competition, and the ace Choi Min-jeong won the women’s 1500m 1st race at the 5th competition.
Fortunately, in the 3000m relay, she reached the top twice and was in a tight balance with the Netherlands and Canada.
While Choi Min-jeong was not in 100% condition because it was the season right after the Olympics, the Netherlands, ahead of Scheujaner Swielting, dominated Korea by winning 15 gold medals in the women’s division, including sweeping all five events in the women’s division in the first round.
In addition to Swilting, the Netherlands has become a strong country in all women’s events, with Sandra Belzevoor winning three gold medals in the 500m event alone. The rise of Haner Desmut (2nd gold), a Belgian strongman who is close to Swielting, is also a threat.
However, Choi Min-jung is determined to compete without regret at the Cortina-Milan Olympics, Kim Gil-li is growing rapidly, and Shim Suk-hee is also reviving, so it seems that the women’s short track speed skating can rebound after three years of reorganization.
The mixed 2000m relay is also good. It was expected that South Korea, which is weak in short distances, would have a hard time as it was a 500m event with two men and two women, but it opened up the possibility of making it the main event in the future by winning 3 times out of 6 competitions.