Crystal Globe’s Park Ji-won wins men’s 1000 meters
In his return to the Short Track World Cup stage, Hwang Dae-heon (Gangwon-do Province)
defeated China’s Lin Xiaojun (Korean name Lim Hyo-joon) to win gold in his first event.
Hwang finished first in the men’s 1500-meter final in 2:23.66 at the first International Ice Skating
Union (ISU) Short Track World Cup event of the 2023-2024 season in Montreal, Canada, on Sunday (Feb. 22).
He was the first to cross the line after being chased by Stijn Desmut (BEL).
Lin Xiaojun, with whom he has a rocky relationship, did not make the final. Facing Hwang Dae-Heon
in the semifinals, Lin Xiao-Jun was relegated to third place and was pushed into the final.
Hwang and Lin co-led the South Korean men’s short track team at the 2018 Winter Olympics in
Pyeongchang, South Korea, but the pair completely split in 2019.
Lin Xiaozhun
Was brought to trial after an unpleasant encounter with Hwang Dae-heon at the Jincheon Athletes’
Village in 2019. She was acquitted in court, but received a one-year suspension from the KOC. Lin
Xiaozhun later chose to naturalize in China in 2020. Hwang went on to become the ace of the South
Korean men’s team, winning the country’s first gold medal in the men’s 1500 meters at the Beijing
2022 Winter Olympics last year.
After the Winter Olympics, they did not meet for the first time after naturalization as Hwang missed
the entire 2022-2023 season with a back injury, but they reached the semifinals side-by-side at the
Games, marking their first meeting in four years, and Hwang had the last laugh.
Park Ji-won (Seoul Metropolitan Government), who won the ISU Crystal Globe as the World Cup’s
top athlete last season, won the men’s 1000m final in 1:24.903 ahead of rival Steven DuBois.
In the women’s 1500m final, Kim Gil-ri (Seongnam City Hall) crossed the line in 2:28.012, just ahead
of Belgium’s Hanne Desmet.
In the women’s 1000m final, Lee So-yeon (Sportsnet) and Seo Hwi-min (Korea University) won
silver (1:43.214) and bronze (1:47.008) behind USA’s Christine Santos-Griesswald.
In the 2000m mixed relay final, Kim Gil-ri, Kim Gun-woo, Seo Ira (Hwaseong City Hall), and Shim
Seok-hee (Seoul Metropolitan Government) won silver in 2:40.766, just behind China. 19가이드03