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Short track skater Rim Jong-un starts tour season strong with gold in Montréal

Published: 12 Oct. 2025, 14:42 Updated: 12 Oct. 2025, 16:27

Rim Jong-un skates to a first place finish in the 1500-meter final at the ISU Short Track World Tour Speedskating event in Montreal, Canada on Oct. 11. [AP/YONHAP]

Seventeen-year-old Rim Jong-un won gold in the men's 1,500-meter final with a time of 2:16.141 at the 2025–26 ISU Short Track World Tour on Saturday, marking a strong start to his first season at the senior level.

Rim topped the podium at Maurice Richard Arena in Montréal, Québec, beating countryman Hwang Dae-heon by 0.452 seconds in the process.

Rim stayed patient in the early laps, sitting in third and fourth, before charging to the front with four laps to go and holding off the field with a strong finish.

A junior world champion, Rim emerged as a breakout name earlier this year after finishing first in the national team squad selection contest in April ahead of veterans including Park Ji-won and Hwang.

Still a student at Noeon High School, Rim also secured a spot in the men’s individual events at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

His ascent follows a long recovery from injuries. As a middle school student, Rim broke his shin and ankle in separate incidents and spent 18 months in rehabilitation.

The Korean women’s team, meanwhile, picked up a gold medal on the same day. The relay team of Choi Min-jeong, Kim Gil-li, Shim Suk-hee and Noh Do-hee finished first in the 3,000-meter final with a time of 4:07.318, edging the Netherlands by 0.032 seconds.

After an early battle with the Dutch and Canadian skaters, Kim moved from third to first with eight laps to go and maintained the lead through the finish. Kim also added a silver medal in the women’s 1,000 meters, clocking 1:28.250.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK RIN [[email protected]]