Two Koreans win gold in 500-meter race at ISU Speed Skating World Cup

Kim Min-sun skates during the women’s 500-meter World Cup speedskating event in Calgary, Alberta, on Friday. [AP/YONHAP]

Kim Min-sun, center, celebrates her victory with second-place finisher Japan’s Miho Takagi, left, and third-place finisher Erin Jackson of the United States, on the podium following the women’s 500-meter competition at the ISU World Cup speed skating event in Calgary, Alberta, on Friday. [AP/YONHAP]

 
Kim Min-sun and Kim Jun-ho won the women’s and men’s 500-meter gold medal at the Calgary ISU Speed Skating World Cup on Friday.
 
Kim Min-sun won the women’s 500-meter gold medal, setting a new personal best of 36.96 and coming in 0.30 seconds ahead of runner-up Mihi Takagi of Japan and 0.39 seconds ahead of bronze medalist Erin Jackson of the United States.
 
Kim Min-sun’s new personal best comes just a week after setting her previous personal record of 36.97 on Dec. 10 when she won another gold medal in the 500-meter race. That marked her fifth gold medal this season.
 
Kim Min-sun has already won six gold medals and one silver medal this season. Her first gold medal came in Stavanger, Norway, in the 500-meter race with a time of 37.553. She went on to win the silver medal in the 1,000-meter race with a time of 1:15.820.
 
She won the 500-meter gold medal at the ISU Four Continents Championships in Quebec, Canada. It was her second 500-meter gold medal in just 10 days after winning the women’s 500 meters in Stavanger. She won the 1000-meter gold medal in Quebec as well.
 
By adding another 500-meter gold medal, Kim Min-sun gets to keep her world No. 1 spot in the women’s 500 meters.
 

Kim Jun-ho slips on his start as he competes in the men’s 500-meter at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Calgary, Canada, on Saturday. [EPA/YONHAP]

Kim Jun-ho, center, celebrates his gold medal with Jordan Stolz of the United States, left, who won silver and Laurent Dubreuil of Canada, right, who won bronze in the men’s 500-meter at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Calgary, Canada, on Saturday. [EPA/YONHAP]

 
Kim Min-sun isn’t the only Korean who made it onto the podium in Calgary, with Kim Jun-ho also setting a personal record in the men’s 500-meter race to win gold on Saturday. He was 0.01 seconds faster than Jordan Stoltz of the United States, who won silver and also set a personal best on Saturday, and 0.03 seconds faster than bronze medalist Laurent Dubreuil of Canada.
 
This is Kim Jun-ho’s first gold medal of the season. Just a week ago, he won the 500-meter bronze medal on Dec. 11.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]