South Korea Grabs 6 Medals at Short Track Worlds in Sofia

ark Seung-Hi (Front) of South Korea in action during a Ladies 1500m final race at Samsung ISU World Cup short-track in Sofia, Bulgaria 19 March 2010. Photo by EPA/BGNES

South Korea was the hero of the first day of the short track speedskating world championships in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, sweeping the gold medals in the men's and women's 1,500-meter races.

Yoon-Gy Kwak upgraded his silver medal from last year's Championships in Vienna to a gold in the men's 1500m. Kwak crossed the line in a time of 2:24.32 minutes ahead of two of his relay teammates that joined him on the podium in Canada.

Not to be outdone, the Korean women also pulled off their own 1-2-3 as 17-year-old Seung-Hi Park claimed gold in the 1500m stopping the clock at 2:21.57 minutes. Bulgarians Evgeniya Radanovа and Marina Nikolova ended up 11th and 31st respectively in the final ranking.

Si-Bak Sung came through just fractions behind Kwak to add another silver medal to his collection following his relay and 500m second place finishes at the Olympics.

And the Korean dominance was rounded off when Ho-Suk Lee took bronze in a time of 2:24.46 minutes.

Compatriots Eun-Byul Lee and Ha-Ri Cho followed Park over the line to capture silver and bronze respectively.

The Championships continue on Saturday in Bulgaria with the men's and women's 500m event to be decided.

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