Seoul: Speed skater Kim Jun-ho has broken the South Korean national record in the men's 500 meters. Kim won the bronze medal in the men's 500m at the first International Skating Union (ISU) Speed Skating World Cup of the season at Utah Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a time of 33.78 seconds.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Cha Min-kyu had the previous South Korean record with 34.03 seconds, set at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup Final in March 2019. Jenning De Boo of the Netherlands grabbed the gold in 33.63 seconds, and Yevgeniy Koshkin of Kazakhstan, who skated alongside Kim, took silver in 33.67 seconds.

Kim, the reigning Asian Winter Games bronze medalist in the 500m, had the second-fastest split in the opening 100m with 9.49 seconds and came home in 24.20 seconds. He caught an edge and fell right after crossing the finish line, barely avoiding crashing into Koshkin.

Another South Korean skater, Lee Na-hyun, won the bronze medal in the women's 500m with a personal-best time of 37.03 seconds. It was Lee's first World Cup individual medal. Femke Kok of the Netherlands set the world record with 36.09 seconds for the gold, breaking a 12-year-old mark held by two-time Olympic champion from South Korea, Lee Sang-hwa.