Veteran speed-skater Lee Kyou-hyuk proved he is still at his best by winning the first of two 500-meter races at the World Sprint Championships in Canada on Saturday.
He set a swift pace from the start and put down a time of 34.33 seconds in the 500m at the Olympic Oval in Calgary.
Later in the day, Lee skated to a 1-minute, 8.01-second finish, placing fourth in the 1,000m, leading the first day of the competition with 68.335 points overall, ahead of Dmitry Lobkov of Russia and Stefan Groothuis of the Netherlands.
Korea’s Lee Kyou-hyuk reacts after winning the 500-meter event in Calgary on Saturday.(AP-Yonhap News)
The 34-year-old has never made the Olympic podium, but is the defending world men’s sprint champion. He won the event four times, including the 2011 championships in the Netherlands.
Many thought he would retire soon, following his disappointing 2010 Olympic campaign, but Lee seems to have become faster.
The sprint title is determined by skaters’ times over two distances ― 500m and 1,000m ― which are skated twice. Lee will race the 500m and 1,000m on Monday morning, Korean time, in pursuit of his fifth world title.
By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldm.com)
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
