South Korean men’s and women’s short track got off to a disappointing start on the first day of qualifying for the third edition of the 2023-2024 International Ice Skating Federation (ISU) Short Track World Cup.
Hwang Dae-heon (Gangwon-do Province) was disqualified after receiving an ‘arm block’ penalty in heat 2 of the men’s 500-meter first race qualification at the third edition of the 2023-2024 ISU Short Track World Cup in Beijing, China, on Monday (Feb. 8).
Hwang, who was assigned the outside position in the five-man heat 2, dropped to the bottom of the field shortly after the start but quickly worked his way up to third place, battling with Roberts Krusebergs (LAT) and Steven DuBois (CAN).
As Hwang picked up the pace in the final corner before the finish line, DuBois, who was in the lead, fell and tangled with him, allowing Cruzbergs to cross the line in first place.
Video review showed an “arm block” in the final corner, where Hwang used her hands to grip the ice to keep her center, and she was disqualified.
Park Ji-won (Jeonbuk-do) also suffered an unfortunate penalty in the first heat of the women’s 500-meter race.
Park, who competed in heat 2, made physical contact with Wang Xinlan (CHN), who tried to overtake her on the second lap.
Park Ji-won crossed the finish line in last place, and the video review showed that Park Ji-won did not give way to the overtaking Wang Xinlan, resulting in an ‘end of straight’ penalty.
South Korea also failed to qualify for the semifinals after finishing last in the mixed relay quarterfinals in which Hwang Dae-heon, Kim Gun-woo, Kim Gil-ri (Seongnam City Hall) and Park Ji-won teamed up.
Park Ji-won, who started as the first runner, was disappointed that her blades clashed with Poland’s Nikola Mazur in the first lap and she fell.
However, the Korean men’s and women’s teams fared well in the rest of the events.
Shim Seok-hee (Seoul Metropolitan Government) and Kim Gil-ri (Seoul Metropolitan Government) qualified for the semifinals of the women’s 1,500-meter run by finishing first in heat 2 and 3, respectively. Shim also qualified for the quarterfinals in the 500-meter second race, finishing second in heat 5.
In the women’s 1,000-meter run, Seo Hui-min (Korea University), Lee So-yeon (SportsToken) and Kim Gil-ri (SportsToken) advanced to the quarterfinals after finishing first, fifth and sixth, respectively.
In the men’s 1,500 meters, Kim Gun-woo and Jang Jang-woo finished first and second in Heat 2, while Park Ji-won also punched his ticket to the semifinals by topping Heat 5.
Park Ji-won also topped heat 1 in the 1,000 meters, while Hwang Dae-heon, who was eliminated in the first race of the 500 meters, advanced to the quarterfinals with a top finish in heat 4 of the 1,000 meters. 안전놀이터