Korean team wins World Cup gold in pursuit speed skating

Korean men’s team pursuit team led by representative skater Lee Seung-hoon grabbed the first gold in the ISU Speed Skating World Cup.

In the 4th round of men’s team pursuit in the 2014-2015 season ISU Speed Skating World Cup held in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, on Friday, Korean men’s team pursuit team consisting of Lee Seung-hoon, Kim Cheol-min and Go Byeong-wook finished the race in 3:44:57 and won the gold medal beating the speed skating powerhouse Netherlands (3:44:97). The team pursuit has become the world cup official event since the 2005-2006 season and this is the first time for the Korean team to win a gold.

Thanks to great performance of skater Lee Seung-hoon, Korean men’s team pursuit team has grown into one of world’s top teams. But the team used to be beaten by the Dutch team. The Korean team finished second for three consecutive rounds in the 2011-2012 season, while grabbing three silvers and one bronze behind the Netherlands team in the next season. At the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games, the Korean team took the second place winning a silver medal following the Dutch team.

Meanwhile, Lee Sang-hwa took the first place by finishing the Division A’s first race in 37:69 in the women’s 500-meter sprint. Lee has won four gold medals of five sprints consecutively. Park Seung-hee, ranked in the 16th with a record of 38:75, continued shaving her record by finishing the race around 38 seconds for the first time.