🔥 Choi Min-jeong's Farewell Season Starts with Gold! 1000m Gold & Relay Silver 🥈 - 2026.10.25 | Short Track

Hello, fans! 🙌 Finally, medal news has arrived from the first stop of the 2026-2027 Short Track World Tour. It was a day full of comebacks, overtakes, and thrilling final sprints 🛼💨

👑 Choi Min-jeong Opens Her Farewell Season with Gold!

Choi Min-jeong crossed the finish line first in the women's 1000m final at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada on the 25th, with a time of 1:32.954 ^[1]. It's an even more meaningful gold since it's her first medal race of her final national team season ^[2].

Choi, who was in third early in the race, began her real push three laps from the finish ^[2]. She moved to the outside, passed Gloria Iorio of Italy, then immediately dove to the inside to overtake leader Sandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands! She jumped from third to first in an instant ⚡ ^[2]. She then raised her speed further, opened a gap, and crossed the line without any real trouble ^[1]. It looked like she had a booster switched on, right? ^[5]

She also finished first in every qualifying round and the semifinal, proving that her world-class form remains unchanged even in her farewell season ^[1]. Kim Gil-li finished fifth in the same 1000m final ^[3].

🥈 Relay Silver! A Dramatic Late Comeback

In the women's 3000m relay final, the national team finished second with a time of 4:13.881 ^[4]. Canada took first with 4:13.609 ^[2].

The team led almost the entire race, but three laps from the finish, the Kim Gil-li to Choi baton exchange slipped slightly and Korea dropped to fourth 😱 ^[2]. Still, anchor Choi gritted her teeth and sprinted, and as the Netherlands and Italy crashed ahead of her, Korea rose to second ^[2]. The semifinal was a great success and the final was disappointing, but the silver medal shines ^[4]. The lineup included Choi Min-jeong, Shim Suk-hee, Kim Gil-li, and Kim Min-ji ^[2].

⛸️ The Men's Team Also Fought Hard!

In the men's 1500m, Lim Jong-un won silver with a time of 2:20.082 🥈 ^[2]. As the only Korean to reach the final, Lim saved energy from fourth early on, then chased from the outside two laps out and moved into second on the final curve ^[2].

However, Korea failed to medal in the men's 500m, a weaker event ^[2]. Lim finished third in his semifinal and was moved to the B final ^[2], while Lee Jeong-min advanced to the final and finished third, but was disqualified after a penalty for contact with Steven Dubois. A painful moment 😢 ^[3]

The men's 5000m relay qualified for the final by winning its semifinal heat in 6:56.350, ahead of Canada, Britain, and Italy 🎫 ^[2]. The final will be held at the same venue on the 26th ^[1].

📺 Rewatch the Key Moments

Videos from the first day, including the men's 500m, 1500m, 5000m relay, and women's 1000m and 3000m relay, are available ^[7]. You can also check the results of Choi's 1000m final: 1st Choi, 2nd Velzeboer, 3rd Iorio, 5th Kim Gil-li ^[6]

What a fiery start to her final national team season. We can't wait for the next race 💕 Please cheer for the relay final on the 26th too! 📣