World cup Debrecen: Schulting in gold on the first day of the finals

The Főnix Arena in Debrecen, Hungary is the scene of the 3rd round of the World Cup in short track speed skating this weekend and it was finals day in 1500m and 500m today. 

By Carl Savard

Photos by Martin Holtom

Ren Ziwei and Suzanne Schulting prevail on 1500m

Today was a day of celebration for Liu Shaolin Sandor who was celebrating his 26th birthday. However, his opponents in the 1500m grand final had no intention of doing him any favors, especially China's Ren Ziwei, Canada's Pascal Dion and Korea's Park Jang-hyuk who won gold, silver and bronze respectively. Liu finished in 5th place. Pascal Dion is currently 4th overall in the 1500m and is currently sitting atop the 1000m rankings.

In the women's event, the top five skaters in the World Cup 1500m rankings after two legs were in the grand final today in Debrecen. In a very competitive final, Lee Yubin was able to maintain her top ranking by finishing second in this final, but she is now only a few points ahead of the big winner of today's final, Suzanne Schulting, who was able to withstand Lee and Choi Min-jeong's sustained attacks in the last two laps to take the gold. Canada's Courtney Sarault won the bronze and is now fourth in the standings with one event to go this season. 

Schulting and the Lius are all smiles on 500m

In a final led largely by world record holder Kim Boutin, it was Suzanne Schulting who finally crossed the finish line in first place adding a second gold medal to her collection today. Italy's Ariana Fontana won silver while Boutin finished in third place. The young Canadian Florence Brunelle finished in fourth place. 

In the men's event, the Liu brothers put on quite a show for their fans as the photo finish was needed to determine the gold medal winner. Liu Shaolin Sandor finally gave himself a birthday present by finishing one hundredth of a second ahead of his younger brother Liu Shaoang to grab the gold. The bronze medal was won by Ren Ziwei from China who was on the podium for the second time today.

The finals on 1000m and the different relay events will be held tomorrow.

For full results click HERE

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