By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
South Korea swept the podium in the men's and women's 1,500 meters Saturday (KST) at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Kwak Yoon-gy crossed the finish line in 2 minutes, 24.316 seconds to secure the men's title, edging teammate Sung Si-bak by 0.057 seconds.
Kwak, 20, skated in place of injured double Olympic gold medalist Lee Jung-su.
Reigning world champion Lee Ho-suk came in third.
``I did not even expect to compete, so I am surprised about winning,'' said Kwak, who won a silver medal in the 5,000-meter relay in Vancouver.
``The three of us knew each other very well, so we were good at responding to situations and that led to a good result.''
On the women's side, Park Seung-hi finished in first with a time of 2:21.570, followed by compatriots Lee Eun-byul and Cho Ha-ri.
The 17-year-old Park, the youngest on the squad, was a double bronze medalist at last month's Winter Games.
However, the Korean team failed to extend its dominant run on the second day of the annual competition, as it failed to add a medal.
The nation produced a lone finalist ― Lee Ho-suk ― in the 500 meters, but he finished in fifth.
Kwak was disqualified in a heat and so was Sung in the semifinal after colliding with Canadian Charles Hamelin
Liang Wenhao of China won a gold medal and Francois Hamelin and Francois-Louis Tremblay of Canada placed second and third, respectively.
Earlier in the day, the Korean women's skaters failed to reach the final.
Cho and Lee were eliminated from the quarterfinals and Park failed to advance to the final after being in third in the penultimate round.
Chinese Wang Meng, who won three gold medals in Vancouver, topped the shortest-distance race.
Koreans at a Loss During Award Ceremony
A ridiculous award ceremony took place on the opening day of the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, which was aired live in South Korea.
After receiving their medals, three women's skaters were waiting for the national anthem to play, but the wrong music played.
The organizing committee found the problem and corrected it.
But when the flags were raised, Korea's was of poor quality.
After watching the scenes, viewers complained about the blunders.
``This happening is egregious give that it took place during the award ceremony,'' one said on a TV portal site.
ksw@koreatimes.co.kr
