Milan: South Korea collected its second gold medal of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Wednesday in short track speed skating, as the women's 3,000-meter relay team came through with the top prize. The team of Choi Min-jeong, Kim Gil-li, Noh Do-hee, and Shim Suk-hee finished first in the 27-lap race, ahead of Italy and Canada, for South Korea's first short track gold medal of these Winter Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan.
According to Yonhap News Agency, midway through the race, Choi nearly fell to the ice when Michelle Velzeboer collided with her after skating into the blade of a Canadian's skate. But Choi stayed on her feet and kept South Korea in third place. In the late stages, both Italy and South Korea moved past Canada, and then Kim anchored South Korea to the gold medal with a burst of speed over the final two laps.
South Korea now has two gold medals, two silver medals, and three bronze medals at this Olympics. The competition will wrap up Sunday.
Also on Wednesday, South Korea easily defeated Sweden 8-3 in the women's curling tournament at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo, 260 kilometers northeast of Milan. South Korea scored three points in the opening end and never trailed the rest of the way.
South Korea improved to 5-3 in the round-robin stage with one final match remaining against Canada on Thursday. A win will send South Korea to the semifinals.
In snowboard, women's big air bronze medalist Yu Seung-eun finished in 12th place in the slopestyle at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, 140 kilometers north of Milan. Yu scored 34.18 points to rank last among a dozen finalists.