In this Imagn Images photo, Kim Min-sun of Korea competes in the women’s 1000m during the ISU Speedskating World Cup at Calgary Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Nov. 21. Reuters-Yonhap
Speed skater Kim Min-sun has claimed her first medal of the ongoing World Cup season in her main event in Norway.
Kim finished third in the women’s 500 meters at the fourth International Skating Union (ISU) Speed Skating World Cup of the season at Hamar Olympic Hall in Hamar, Norway, on Sunday (local time), with a time of 37.835 seconds.
Yukino Yoshida of Japan won the gold in 37.65 seconds, and Kaja Ziomek-Nogal of Poland was the runner-up in 37.831 seconds.
Kim and Ziomek-Nogal needed the extra decimal point to determine the color of their medals.
This was the second of two women’s 500m races in Hamar. Kim finished sixth in the first race Friday, her best performance of this season up to that point. One of the most successful skaters in the women’s 500m in recent years, Kim had not been able to match her earlier success until Sunday.
The medal came at the same Norwegian rink where Kim won bronze at the 2025 ISU World Speed Skating Single Distances Championships in March.
The ISU will determine quota places for the upcoming Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics based on results of the first four World Cup events. In the men’s and women’s 500m, 1,000m and 1,500m, 21 quota spots will be assigned based on skaters’ World Cup points rankings, with a maximum of three skaters per country.
Kim put herself in 11th place with 222 points following her bronze medal. Her teammate, Lee Na-hyun, finished in fourth place overall with 254 points as the top Korean in the women’s 500m. Lee finished fourth behind Kim on Sunday and previously won bronze in Salt Lake City, Utah, in November.
The ISU will finalize the Olympic quota allocations Friday.