Speed Skating Kim Minseon Wins Gold in Main Event 500m... Junior Lee Nahyeon Takes Silver

Speed skaters Kim Min-seon and Lee Na-hyun swept the gold and silver medals in the women's 100m and 500m events. Kim Min-seon, who had conceded the gold medal to her junior Lee Na-hyun in the 100m, took the gold in her main event, the 500m.

On the 9th, at the Speed Skating Oval of the Heilongjiang Ice Training Center in Harbin, China, Kim Min-seon won the gold medal in the women's 500m with a time of 38.24 seconds. Lee Na-hyun, who also competed, earned the silver medal with a time of 38.33 seconds.

Kim Minseon (left) and Lee Nahyun are celebrating while holding the Taegeukgi after winning gold and silver medals respectively in the women's 500m speed skating event at the Speed Skating Oval of the Heilongjiang Ice Training Center in Harbin, China, on the 9th.
Photo by Yonhap News

Kim Min-seon started from the outer lane in the 8th heat out of a total of 10 heats. She passed the 100m mark in 10.46 seconds, the fastest among the 20 competitors, and accelerated further to claim the gold medal.

Following Kim Min-seon, Lee Na-hyun started from the inner lane in the 9th heat. She passed the first 100m in 10.61 seconds and showed strong finishing power, finishing just 0.09 seconds behind Kim Min-seon to take the silver medal.

Kim Min-seon enjoyed the joy of her first gold medal after winning her first medal at the Winter Asian Games the previous day. During her high school years at the 2017 Sapporo Games, she placed 7th in the 500m and 13th in the 1000m, failing to win a medal.

Kim Min-seon is a world-class athlete who ranked 1st in the 2022-2023 ISU World Cup women's 500m and 2nd in the 2023-2024 season rankings.

Kim Min-seon and Lee Na-hyun each took home a gold and silver medal, respectively.

The bronze medal went to China's Tian Ruining with a time of 38.57 seconds. Kim Eun-seo (39.56 seconds) and Park Chae-eun (39.58 seconds), who also competed alongside Kim Min-seon and Lee Na-hyun, placed 12th and 13th, respectively.