Seoul: South Korea earned gold in the inaugural women’s team sprint speed skating event at the Asian Winter Games in China on Sunday. The trio of Kim Min-sun, Kim Min-ji, and Lee Na-hyun combined for 1:28.72 to beat China by 0.23 second at Heilongjiang Ice Events Training Center Speed Skating Oval in Harbin.
According to Yonhap News Agency, this was the second gold medal in Harbin for both Lee and Kim Min-sun. On Saturday, Lee and Kim won gold and silver in the inaugural 100m race. Then earlier Sunday, it was Kim taking gold and Lee winning silver in the 500m.
The team sprint event was newly added to the Asian Games program in Harbin. With three skaters each, teams start the three-lap, 1,200m race simultaneously on each side of the track. The leadoff skater leaves the track after one lap, and the next skater covers the second lap, leaving it to the third and final skater to finish off the race.
The women’s race featured four teams, with South Korea going up against China in the first pair and Japan and Kazakhstan dueling in the second pair. South Korea and China were neck and neck early on, with Kim Min-ji dropping off after the first lap. Lee pushed South Korea into the lead before Kim Min-sun took care of the final lap.