After switching skates for the off-season, “New Ice Queen” Kim Min-sun (24, Government Complex) finished fifth in the main event of her first international competition of the 2023-2024 season.
Kim clocked a time of 37.999 seconds in the first race of the Women’s 500-meter Division A (First) at the 2023-2024 International Ice Skating Union (ISU) Speedskating World Cup on Tuesday in Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan, behind Kimi Goetz (37.826 seconds), Erin Jackson (37.893 seconds), Femke Kok (37.930 seconds), and Yukino Yoshida (37.962 seconds).
Kim Min-sun, who raced against Femke Kok in the Group 9 out-course, got off to a slightly slow start, but quickly picked up the pace with a burst of speed.
She covered the first 100 meters in 10.59 seconds, fifth overall. That was slightly faster than Pemke Kok (10.61).
Kim then ran side-by-side with Pemke Kok for the rest of the race, but faded in the closing stages.
Although she didn’t win a medal, it’s not a bad performance.
Kim switched skate boots in August in preparation for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Usually, skaters who change their skates during the season need time to adjust, so their results are often lower than in previous years.
Kim used the competition as a practice run to get used to her new skates, and she was pleased with her performance.
She finished 17th out of 20 athletes in the women’s 1,000 meters Division A at the same venue with a time of 1 minute, 17.54 seconds.
After the first day of competition, Kim will test her new skates once again in the second race of the women’s 500 meters on Wednesday.
Kim has been a fixture on the ice for South Korea, where she was the world’s top sprinter last season.
She swept the women’s 500-meter gold medals from the first through fifth World Cup events of the 2022-2023 season, finishing first overall.
She also set a personal record of 36.960 seconds in December last year.
Meanwhile, Kim Jun-ho (Gangwon Province) finished eighth in the men’s 500 meters Division A in 35.18 seconds and Cha Min-kyu (Dongducheon City) finished 11th in 35.27 seconds. 먹튀검증