Choi Min-jeong (Seongnam City Hall), who is set to retire from the national team after this season, secured the gold medal in the women's 1,000m at the International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track World Tour Leg 2, following her victory in the same event at Leg 1.

Choi claimed the title with a time of 1 minute, 30.273 seconds in the women's 1,000m final on the second day of the competition held at the Maurice Richard Arena in Montreal, Canada, today (November 1).

Choi, who harvested one gold, two silver, and one bronze medal including the women's 1,000m title at the World Tour Leg 1 held last week, demonstrated her enduring prowess by capturing an individual gold medal for the second consecutive week.

Choi pulled off a dramatic comeback victory in the 1,000m final.

Competing against three Canadian skaters, including Courtney Sarault, and Hanne Desmet of Belgium, Choi monitored the race from the rear during the early stages amid a check from the Canadian skaters.

The three Canadian skaters took control of the race by occupying the top three positions.

Maintaining her fourth place while conserving energy, Choi made her decisive move with two laps remaining before the finish line.

Moving out to the outer lane and sprinting at full speed, she successively passed two of the leading Canadian skaters.

Entering the final lap in second place amid a chaotic battle, Choi dived into the inner lane at the final corner to overtake leader Sarault, dramatically clinching the championship.

Choi also played a stellar role in the women's 3,000m relay final, combining forces to secure a silver medal.

Teaming up with Shim Suk-hee (Seoul City Hall), Kim 건희 (Seongnam City Hall), and Kim Min-ji (Korea National Sport University), Choi attempted an outside pass on the final lap but faced difficulties passing the Italian and Canadian skaters.

However, refusing to give up, she took a tight inside line at the final corner of the final lap to surpass Canada, and crossed the finish line by thrusting her skate blade forward.

As a result of a photo finish, Italy placed first with 4 minutes, 12.931 seconds, while South Korea finished second with 4 minutes, 12.945 seconds.

The South Korean national team failed to add medals in other events.

In the men's 1,500m final, Shin Dong-min (Hwaseong City Hall) finished fourth, while all competitors in the men's 500m failed to reach the final.

Shin Dong-min, Bae Seo-chan (Goyang City Hall), Lee Kyu-ho (Korea National Sport University), and Kim Tae-sung (Hwaseong City Hall), who competed in the men's 5000m relay semifinals, successfully advanced to the final by placing first in Group 1.

The national team will race for their final medals tomorrow (November 2) before returning to Korea to prepare for the World Tour Leg 3 to be held domestically.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)