“I want to show that Korean athletes can also challenge short distances” Seo Yi-ra, World Cup 500m gold medal

Seo Yi-ra is giving her thoughts after winning the 500m race at the 6th competition of the 2023-24 International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track World Cup. 

Seo Ira (31, Hwaseong City Hall), the eldest member of the Korean men's short track team, won a gold medal at the 6th competition of the 2023-24 International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track World Cup.

Seo Yi-ra crossed the finish line first, recording a time of 41.451 seconds in the final of the first men's 500m race on the second day of the competition held in Gdansk, Poland on the 18th (Korean time). He surpassed Stephen Dubois (Canada, 41.467 seconds) and Ukasz Kuczynski (Poland, 41.875 seconds).

After finishing the game, Seo Era said through the Korea Skating Federation, "I am returning to the national team after 5 years and attending the World Cup, so I am continuing to challenge short distances because I want to show that Korean athletes can also challenge short distances." “I am happy that I overcame the disappointment and won this time,” he said.

He added, “I’m really grateful to the fans in Korea who supported us until late at night.”

Seo-Ira advanced to the finals in second place, losing to Dubois in both the quarterfinals and semifinals.

But the final final was different. Seo Yi-ra, who was behind in the preliminaries, momentarily broke into the in-course with two laps left in the finals and overtook Dubois, who was leading.

Kim Tae-seong (Dankook University), who competed in the men's 500m with Seo Yi-ra, ranked 4th with a time of 41.896 seconds.

Seo Ira won her first gold medal in an individual event at this season's Grand Prix series after returning to her national team after a whopping five years since the 2017-2018 season. Seo Yi-ra unfortunately won a silver medal in the 500m in the fourth competition.

Including the relay, it is her second gold medal. Earlier, Seo Yi-ra won her first gold medal in the men's 5000m relay at the 5th World Cup. At the time, he played until the semifinals and did not play in the finals, but the national team won and won the gold medal with his teammates.

Meanwhile, in the men's 1500m final, Jang Seong-woo (Korea University) took second place with 2 minutes 16.087 seconds, following Pascal Dion (Canada, 2 minutes 16.060 seconds).

Jang Seong-woo also won a silver medal in the mixed relay, in which he participated with Kim Gil-li (Seongnam City Hall), Shim Seok-hee (Seoul City Hall), and Kim Geon-woo (Sports Toto), with a time of 2 minutes 41.357 seconds, following the Netherlands (2 minutes 40.737 seconds).

On the other hand, Shim Seok-hee, who competed in the women's 1500m final, finished sixth with a time of 2 minutes 24.147 seconds and failed to win a medal. Gilly Kim was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the first 500m race. 토토사이트