Women’s speedskating ‘queen’ Kim Min-sun (24, Seoul City Hall) won gold in the women’s 500-meter race at the sixth edition of the 2023-2024 International Ice Skating Union (ISU) Speedskating World Cup.
Kim clocked 37.69 seconds to win the women’s 500m first race on day two of the six-day event at the De Glace Centre ice rink in Quebec City, Canada, on Thursday (April 4), ahead of Femker Kok (Netherlands – 37.70) and Lu Ling Tian (China – 38.05). It was her seventh consecutive 500m World Cup medal, starting with bronze in the second race of the second edition last November.
She also had the added bonus of setting a course record for the women’s 500m at the De Glass Center ice rink (38.14), 0.45 seconds faster than the course record she set when she won the ISU Four Continents Championships at the same venue in December 2022.
On the day, Kim was paired with World Cup leader Erin Jackson (USA) in heat 9 and started on the out-course, passing the 100 meters in 10.41 seconds, good for first overall.
After a steady run, Kim exited the final turn and made a strong charge down the straightaway to finish first overall. With a 0.01-second victory over Femker Kock, who competed in the front eight, Kim added 60 ranking points to her total of 460, which puts her within 14 points of Jackson (474).
“I hadn’t beaten the Olympic champion in the first 100 meters, but I’m very proud of myself for getting a good start today and winning the final meet of the season,” said Jegal Seong-ryul, head coach of Uijeongbu City Hall. “The whole race from start to finish was flawless. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s second event and hopefully reclaiming the top spot in the standings.”
“I struggled with my new boots at the start of the season, but I switched back to my five-year-old boots and found my form. But it’s a process that I’ll have to overcome, so we’ll work together to get through it.”
Meanwhile, ‘long-distance powerhouse’ Jung Jae-won (22-ROK) clocked 7:56.11 in the men’s mass start to finish second behind Shomu Sasaki (JPN-7:56.06). With his 54 ranking points, Chung finished second with a total of 269 points, behind leader Andrea Giovannini (ITA-274).