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| Cha Min-kyu is dashing in the men's 500-meter speed skating race, Monday. / Yonhap |
By Baek Byung-yeul
Long-track speed skater Cha Min-kyu clinched the silver medal in the men's 500-meter speed skating race, Monday.
At the Gangneung Oval, the 24-year-old clocked 34.42 seconds, 0.01 seconds behind Havard Lorentzen of Norway who set an Olympic record after clocking 34.41. China's Gao Tingyu claimed the bronze with 34.65.
The short track-turned-long track sprinter is a rising star in the event, winning the silver medal in a World Cup race in Canada in December. He also won bronze in the Asian Winter Games last year.
With the silver, Cha became the third Korean medalist in this event, following the 2006 Torino bronze medalist Lee Kang-seok and the 2010 Vancouver gold medalist Mo Tae-bum.
Though he missed the gold by 0.01 seconds, Cha said he was satisfied with his race.
"I am so happy to be included in the top three. When Lorentzen came in faster than me, I was surprised but I just accepted the result," he said after the race.
Other Korean skaters Mo and Kim Jun-ho came short of expectations.
The 29-year-old Mo got off to a good start clocking 9.63 seconds in the first 100 meters, but couldn't keep his speed up, finishing 16th.
Kim was faster than Mo clocking 35.01 to finish 12th.
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| Cha Min-kyu celebrates after winning silver in the PyeongChang Olympics men's 500m long track speed skating at the Gangneung Oval, Monday. / Yonhap |
Korea eliminated in women's team pursuit
Prior to the men's 500m race, Korean female long track skaters competed in the women's team pursuit event but failed to advance to the semifinals.
Comprised of Noh Seon-yeong, Park Ji-woo and Kim Bo-reum, Korea came in seventh with a time of three minutes and 03.76 seconds.
Among eight teams, the fastest four teams advance to the semifinals. The Netherlands set an Olympic record after clocking 2:55.61, followed by Japan at 2:56.09, Canada at 2:59.02 and the U.S. at 2:59.75.
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