▲ Choi Min-jeong
Living legend of South Korean short track Choi Min-jeong (28) claimed the top of the podium with dominant skills in the first medal race of her national team retirement season's World Tour.
Choi won the gold medal in the women's 1,000m final at the 2026-2027 International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track World Tour Leg 1 held at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada, on the 25th (Korean time) with a time of 1 minute, 32.954 seconds.
Having passed the preliminaries, quarterfinals, and semifinals all in first place, Choi showcased the skills of a top star in the final as well.
Biding her time in third place during the early stages of the race, she began her serious surge with two and a half laps remaining to the finish line.
She increased her speed to move out to the outer lane and advance to second place, then immediately cut into the inner lane to overtake leader Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands.
Vaulting from third to first place in just half a lap, Choi did not slow down thereafter.
She further accelerated to widen the gap with second-place Velzeboer and crossed the finish line first without any particular crisis.
Following the first national track selection trials last April, Choi announced that she would return her Taegeuk mark (national team spot) after concluding the 2026-2027 season.
However, she proved her unwavering competitiveness by displaying world-class skills from the very first event of her national team retirement season.
Choi will challenge for more gold medals tomorrow in the 500m and 1,500m events.
Kim Gil-li, who competed alongside her in the women's 1,000m final, finished in fifth place.
Meanwhile, South Korea's short track team failed to medal in the men's 500m, a traditionally weak event, held on the same day.
National team ace Lim Jong-eon collided with another skater in semifinal group 1, finishing third and getting relegated to the B final, while Lee Jung-min succeeded in reaching the final but failed to win a medal.
Lee was running in fourth place on the final lap of the final and attempted an outside pass, resulting in contact with Canada's Steven Dubois at the final corner.
Although Lee crossed the finish line in third place, he was penalized and disqualified for committing a foul against Dubois.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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