Host S. Korea shut out of gold in Day 1 of worlds

SEOUL, March 12 (Yonhap) -- Host South Korea was shut out of gold medals on the first day of the world championships on Saturday.

Choi Min-jeong finished second in the women's 1,500-meter at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Short Track Speed Skating Championships at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul.

Choi, the reigning world overall champion, finished her race in 2 minutes, 37.073 seconds. Marianne St-Gelais of Canada claimed the gold in 2:36.844.

Choi started the race in the middle of the pack. With three laps remaining, she tried to move out in front but collided with Fan Kexin of China, allowing St-Gelais to finish first.

Choi later finished fourth in the 500m.

Her 1,500m silver was the best result by any South Korean on Saturday. In the men's competition, Park Se-yeong won the bronze in the 1,500m in 2:17.582. Han Tianyu of China won the gold in 2:17.355, followed by Liu Shaoang of Hungar in 2:17.470.

In the men's 500m, Seo Yi-ra finished fourth.

On Sunday, finals for the men's and women's 1,000m, women's 3,000m relay, men's 5,000m relay, and men's and women's 3,000m super finals will take place.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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