Liu, Boutin clinch season titles in 1,000m in ISU short-track speedskating World Cup
The race for the men's 1,000m overall crown was wide open entering the final and Liu Shaolin Sandor's gold settled it.
Hwang Dae Heon's silver meant he finished second in the ISU World Cup Short Track classification while Canada's Samuel Girard took bronze.
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China's Wu Dajing finishes the fourth in the men's 1,000m final in Seoul, South Korea, Nov 19, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua] |
Chinese star Wu Dajing's hopes were dashed after skating to last.
The race itself mirrored the World Cup race, with the lead shuffling among all four skaters in the last four laps. Eventually, Liu made the move at the right time to cross the line first.
"It was a really good race, there was so much action. It's been really exciting from the quarterfinals," he said after winning his second individual gold this season.
"I hope I can get more experience like this (winning gold)," he added.
Girard agreed: "I knew it would be a fast race, everyone wants to be in front, nobody wants to be at the back because there's a lot of fighting. I think I did pretty well, I attacked, I wasn' t holding it back."
The previous event at Shanghai only gave the Canadian, who was second at the world championships, a relay bronze, so he was pleased with his effort in Seoul.
"I had a good start [to the world cup]. In Shanghai, it was a bit tougher I would say, but I came back stronger here. I will train hard for the Olympics and I would be ready for that."
Dutchman Sjinkie Knegt, the World Cup leader coming into Seoul, was penalized in the semifinals.
Kim Boutin became the second Canadian to finish the ISU World Cup Short Track series as an overall winner after a contentious last corner of the ladies 1,000m final saw rival Shim Suk Hee of South Korea crash out.
There was contact involving Boutin, Shim and Great Britain's Elise Christie. Boutin earned the silver while Christie earned a penalty that left her in tears.
Ahead of the drama, Choi Min Jeong of South Korea won her sixth individual gold this season. Yara van Kerkhof was third.
Boutin explained: "I blocked Christie inside and sometimes contact happens. Everyone in there is really strong. We were jostling."
Teammate Marianne St-Gelais took the 500m crown on Saturday.
Boutin came to Seoul as the World Cup leader and a silver here proved enough for her.
Canada's Jamie Macdonald won the B final.
