SPISSKA NOVA VES, Slovakia (Feb. 10, 2005) – Apolo Anton Ohno gave the U.S. Short Track Speedskating team another gold medal in the World Cup circuit Thursday at World Cup 6 in Slovakia.

 

Ohno (Seattle, Wash.) won the gold medal in the 1500-meters with a 2 minute 15.353 finish time. Steve Robillard (CAN) took home the silver in 2:15.740, followed by teammate Francois Louis Tramblay in 2:15.855.

 

Rusty Smith (Long Beach, Calif.) advanced to the semi-finals in the 1500-meters and finished fourth in his heat, which was not fast enough to advance to the finals.

 

Michael Kooreman (Grand Rapids, Mich.) advanced out of the preliminaries to the heats where he finished fifth in his heat in 2:24.488.

 

Smith finished 11^th and Kooreman 27^th overall in the 1500-meters

 

Jordan Malone (Denton, Tex.) joined Ohno, Smith and Kooreman for the men’s 5000-meters relay. The U.S. men advanced to the quarterfinals where they will skate against Beguim, Korea and the Netherlands.

 

Allison Baver (Sinking Spring, Penn.) and Hyo-Jung Kim (Fullerton, Calif.) both advanced to the semi-finals in the ladies’ 1500-meters. Baver finished third in her heat in 2:30.811. She barely missed a spot to advance to the finals. Meanwhile, Kim finished fifth in her heat in 2:33.962.

 

Kristen Biondo (Broadview Heights, Oh.) also competed in the 1500-meters where she finished third in her heat in 2:40.704.

 

Baver finished seventh, Kim 13^th and Biondo 24^th  overall in the 1500-meters

 

Kira Fling (Winnetka, Ill.) joined Baver, Kim and Biondo for the ladies’ 3000-meters relay. Team U.S. advanced to the semi-finals after a tough heat against China and Korea. The U.S. ladies finished third in the heat in 4:26.733. They will face China, France and the Netherlands in the semi-finals.

 

Results (results courtesy of www.isu.org. Please visit their site for more detailed information):

 

 

Ladies’ 1500-meters:

 

Americans: 7. A. Baver; 13. H. Kim; 24. K. Biondo

 

Men’s 1500-meters: