Choi Min-jeong (Seongnam City Hall), Kim Gil-li (Seongnam City Hall) and Noh Do-hee (Hwaseong City Hall) all advanced from the women’s 1,500-meter short track quarterfinals to the semifinals.
The three skaters earned their semifinal spots in races held at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy on Feb. 21 (Korea time).
Kim was the first South Korean to skate, winning Heat 1 in 2:32.080. She stayed with Zhang Chutong of China near the front early, then moved up on the inside to take the lead and finish first. Zhang and Canada’s Kim Boutin also advanced from the heat.
In Heat 3, Choi placed second in 2:29.010 after a steady race. Belgium’s Dune Dulk opened a gap early, and Hungary’s Diana Laura Bégi briefly pushed Choi back to third with four laps left. Choi regained second with two laps remaining by passing Bégi, then nearly caught Dulk as the Belgian faded. Choi, Dulk and Italy’s Arianna Sighel advanced.
Noh advanced by finishing third in 2:25.17, though she expended extra energy after a restart. With five laps remaining, three skaters fell at the same time and officials ordered a rerun. During the incident, a skate blade from Kristen Santos-Griswold of the United States appeared to brush the face of Poland’s Kamila Selier. Both were later disqualified for an illegal pass.
In the four-skater rerun, Noh held third and briefly took the lead before dropping back. She finished third behind Belgium’s Hanne Desmet and Italy’s Arianna Fontana to secure a semifinal berth.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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