China wins men's 5,000m relay gold at short track worlds

Lin Xiaojun (front) of China competes in the final A of men's 5000m relay at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Seoul, South Korea, March 12, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yiliang)

China won the men's 5,000m relay gold at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships on the final day in Seoul.

SEOUL, March 12 (Xinhua) -- China claimed the men's 5,000m relay title on the closing day of the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships here on Sunday.

The Chinese team of Li Wenlong, Lin Xiaojun, Liu Guanyi and Zhong Yuchen clocked a winning time of seven minutes and 4.412 seconds. Italy finished runners-up in 7:04.484, and South Korea ranked third in 7:04.884.

While Chinese skaters Gong Li, Zang Yize, Li and Lin took silver in the mixed team relay in 2:41.821, the Netherlands pocketed the gold in 2:41.646, and Italy finished third.

Team China pose after the medal ceremony of men's 5000m relay at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Seoul, South Korea, March 12, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yiliang)

Home favorite Park Ji-won timed in 1:27.741 to win the men's 1,000m event. Stijn Desmet of Belgium took the silver and Canadian Steven Dubois bagged the bronze.

After winning two women's events on Sunday, the Netherlands swept all four women's titles in the tournament.

Xandra Velzeboer, who won the women's 500m on Saturday, clinched the 1,000m gold with a time of 1:29.361, ahead of South Korea's Choi Min-jeong and Canada's Courtney Sarault.

Dutch skaters Selma Poutsma, Yara van Kerkhof, Suzanne Schulting and Velzeboer also triumphed in the women's 3,000m relay in 4:09.056, followed by South Korea and Canada.

The World Short Track Championships is the final competition of the 2022-2023 season, with the Netherlands leading the medal table with five golds, followed by South Korea with two. China finished the tournament with one gold and one silver.