#ShortTrackWorldTour

• Defending ISU Crystal Globe champion Kim Gilli (KOR) back on form with dramatic 1000m display
• Kim’s long-time idol Choi Minjeong (KOR) grabs bronze on return to action on home ice
• Danae Blais (CAN) continues to impress with 1000m silver and women’s relay gold
• Canadian Ice Maples extend team Crystal Globe lead after coming through tough test

The roar reverberating around Seoul’s Mokdong Ice Rink on Saturday said it all. Not only was defending ISU Crystal Globe champion Kim Gilli (KOR) catapulting herself back towards the top of the podium, but the Queen of Korean skating Choi Minjeong was following right behind. 

The duo had found themselves near the back of the field in the closing stages of a stacked 1000m final, the opening women’s medal event on day one of the ISU World Tour Seoul, presented by KB Financial Group. But, as they tend to, the long-time friends found another gear, swooped past their rivals and gave their passionate fans the start they all wanted. 

Kim Gilli (KOR) celebrates after winning the women's 1000m at the ISU Short Track World Tour in Seoul. © ISU

Kim, so often in Choi’s shadow before blossoming in her role model’s absence last season, proved the strongest to grab gold. While the rising Canadian Ice Maple Danae Blais hung on to silver. 

But bronze on this occasion was good enough for three-time Olympic champion Choi, 26. 

“The crowd gave me so much energy, I am so happy to be skating here again,” said Choi, who had not competed in Korea since March 2023, after taking a sabbatical. 

“And I am so happy she (Kim) won. She’s a very good skater and she has a good personality. She’s so talented, I learn a lot from her.”  

Kim credits crowd and Choi for golden beginning

After three different winners in the opening three races of this season’s revamped ISU World Tour, all eyes were on the women’s 1000m. And it did not disappoint. 

So high is the standard right now that the ISU Crystal Globe leader and 1000m champion in the season-opener in Montreal, Xandra Velzeboer (NED), failed to reach the A final. The Dutch Lion found the pace too hot in semifinal two. 

That left 1000m world champion Kristen Santos-Griswold (USA) plus Velzeboer’s younger sister Michelle to battle it out with Kim, Choi and Blais. Ultimately, none of them could handle the younger of the two Korean White Tigers. 

“I thought I could get first on that last lap, the crowd was so loud and so happy and that gives me so much confidence,” the 20-year-old Kim revealed, before insisting that Choi remains her one to watch. 

“I am very happy to be on the podium with her. I missed her a lot last season. She’s still my role model and I learn a lot from her.”

Kim’s gold helped her vault back into second place in the individual ISU Crystal Globe race, while Choi’s efforts place her third. 

‘I don’t even care who is in my race’

For silver medallist Blais, both are still setting standards that she can hardly believe she is matching. 

“I look at them and I want to be like them,” Blais said with a laugh. “I know I am already one of them but I get inspired by them.”

Danae Blais (CAN) competing in the women's 1000m at the ISU Short Track World Tour at Mokdong Ice Rink. © ISU

A lot has changed for Blais since the start of last weekend, let alone the season. Buoyed by a summer of relentless work and a wholesale change of attitude, the Ice Maple has now added another medal to the debut gold she won in Beijing. Perhaps even more impressively, she did so by leading from the front in a semifinal featuring Velzeboer senior plus Choi, Kim and Corinne Stoddard (USA). And she very nearly repeated the trick in the final. 

“Last week was amazing, my first medal in this new format," Blais said. "So, I knew I was strong but I was still not sure if I could redo it and redo it.

“I used to really look at who was in my race and do a strategy with the people (in mind) who were in my race but now I just know what I have to do. 

“I don’t even care who is in my race. I really feel like I am a different skater from the last years. It’s really cool to skate and just enjoy and be excited. Instead of being scared and stressed. That’s really, really amazing. I love my sport now that I am skating with that mentality.”

Nothing can stop Canadian Ice Maples

The Italian Gladiators women’s 3000m relay team know exactly what Blais is talking about. For the third World Tour stop in four, the young team shocked their more established rivals by climbing onto the podium. Such form is apparently all about team spirit. 

“We just love each other’s company, it’s the most important thing in a relay – to have fun together and be friends,” a beaming Elisa Confortola (ITA) said after snatching silver to go with the gold and silver she and her pals won in Montreal. “You have to be there for each other in good moments and bad.” 

Even such happy harmony however, was not enough to prevent the Canadian Ice Maples from strengthening their grip on the women’s relay. After triumphing in the second of the Montreal double headers and again in Beijing, they were buzzing to have come out on top once more, this time against an extended field. 

After exchanging the lead regularly with the Dutch Lions, the Ice Maples chose their moment to strike, pulling away on the penultimate racer exchange.

Canada celebrate after winning the women's 3000m relay at the ISU Short Track World Tour in Seoul. © ISU

“We were kind of searching for that race, to have a little battle at the end,” Courtney Sarault (CAN) said. “Having those four other teams that are pretty strong and being able to finish that strong and even with a little gap is something that we’re really proud of. We’ve been working really hard to achieve that.” 

Korea finished third to give the crowd another reason to cheer Choi and Kim. Their efforts helped the Korean White Tigers hold on to the fumes left by leaders, the Canadian Ice Maples. But ultimately, the women’s relay team efforts, helped by two men’s golds plus Blais’ silver means that the gap at the top of the ISU Team Crystal Globe standings has grown further, to 882 points. 

“A perfect way to finish today,” said a smiling Blais. 

ISU Team Crystal Globe standings: 

1. Canadian Ice Maples – 5430 points

2. Korean White Tigers – 4548 points 

3. Dutch Lions – 3667 points

ISU Women’s Crystal Globe standings: 

1. Xandra Velzeboer – 700 points

2. Kim Gilli – 588 points

3. Choi Minjeong – 586 points

About the ISU Short Track World Tour: Feel the Rush!

The ISU Short Track World Tour is a global series of six elite Short Track ice skating events, spanning across North America, Asia and Europe. With a focus on engaging fans in a brand-new dynamic and entertaining event experience through vibrant competitions, the ISU Short Track World Tour aims to elevate the sport and bring its explosive excitement to a worldwide audience.

With each race, skaters aim for the ultimate prize — the Crystal Globe—awarded to the top male and female skater who accumulate the most points throughout the Short Track World Tour. This is where the world’s best Short Track skaters meet to thrill audiences and Feel the Rush!