ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championship Melbourne
This year’s ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championship was held in Melbourne, Australia. Ms. Suk Hee Shim from Korea, was crowned 2012 ISU World Junior Short Track Champion.
The world’s best junior aged short track speed skaters, representing 28 countries were in attendance for this 3-day event. These championships were once again dominated by the Korean skaters, with their team earning a total of 16 medals out of possible 30.
In the ladies competition, Korea swept the podium with Shim finishing ahead of teammates Hyun Su Hwang (second) and Se Jun Ahn (third).
The weekend began with the 1500m events. On the podium in the ladies competition, it was an all Korean affair: Suk Hee Shim started her quest for the World Junior Championship title by taking the win in the distance ahead of her teammate Hyun Sun Hwang. Se Jun Ahn finished third.
In the Ladies 500m, Shim won her second event in two days. Agne Sereikaite of Lithuania was second, and Xue Wang of China was third.
On the last day of the weekend, the championship titles were still up for grabs in both the ladies’ and men’s competition. In the Ladies 1000m event, the winner was Shim, with teammate Hwang finishing second. Xue Wang of China was third. Shim also broke the World Junior Record in the race.
Entering the final race of the weekend, the Ladies Championship title was already determined, however, things were still undecided on the men’s side. In the Ladies 1500m Super Final, it was an all Korean podium. Hwang took the win, ahead of teammates Ahn (second) and Shim (third).
The weekend’s racing concluded with 3000m Relay events. The ladies event was won by the team from Korea. China was second, and Russia was third. In the men’s event, it was close race between Korea and China, with Korea taking the win. The team from the United States completed the podium in third place.
