[Anchor]

Living short-track legend Choi Min-jeong, who has announced she will retire from the national team after this season, seems to be turning back the clock. She is continuing a brilliant "last dance" at the first and second World Tour events with even more dominant skills than in previous seasons.

Reporter Ha Seong-nyong has the story.

[Reporter]

Choi Min-jeong, the sole South Korean skater to advance to the women's 1,500-meter final, engaged in a fierce battle against a total of nine skaters, including three from Italy, three from the Netherlands, and two from Canada.

Biding her time in the middle of the pack, Choi narrowly avoided a chaotic crash involving three Dutch skaters. Moving into second place with a surprise inside overtake on the final lap while running in third, she poured everything into a final sprint, but the remaining distance was just too short to turn the race around.

Though she narrowly missed out on the title, Choi wrapped up the second tour event with one gold medal and one silver medal, continuing to show off her unmatched prowess in her final national team season at age 28.

Sweeping both 1,000-meter events across the first and second tour stops to claim a total of four individual medals, she has secured more gold and total medals than in the opening two events of the previous two seasons.

Her tactical execution—shifting to an inside pass through narrow gaps when her signature outside drive is blocked—is evaluated as having improved even further compared to last season when she was preparing for the Olympics.

Amid banners from fans urging her not to retire being hung up in the arena, Choi will continue her "last dance" in front of home fans at the third tour stop opening in Seoul on the 20th.

[Choi Min-jeong / Short Track National Team Member: I ask for your continued heavy support through the third World Tour stop held in Korea. I will work hard to show you a great performance.]

(Video editing: Hwang Ji-young, Design: Kim Han-gil)