TURIN, Feb. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- South Korea underscored its strength in short-track speed skating as it swept two gold medals at stake Saturday in the sport at the Turin winter Games.

    Ahn Hyun-soo grabbed his second gold medal of these games after winning the men's 1,000m event, while his compatriot Jin Sun-yu took the women's 1,500m title with a stylish victory.

    The 21-year-old Ahn, fresh from his 1,500m triumph on Monday, held off a strong challenge from teammate Lee Ho-suk and American Apolo Anton Ohno to win the 1,000m final in one minute 26.739 seconds, a Games record.

    Lee was merely .025 seconds behind and had to settle for the silver. Ohno, the 1,500m gold medalist at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002, took the bronze in 1:26.927.

    China's Li Ye was fifth, and another Chinese Li Jiajun, a two-time world champion, failed to make the final.

    Ahn skated around the last corner neck and neck with Lee but managed to tip the front of his blade over the finish line first.

    It was a different story in the women's 1,500m final, where the 17-year-old Jin started slowly but overtook the pack with only one lap to go and skated to the finish line with a big lead.

    Jin, ranked number one in the World Cup circuit, finished in two minutes 23.494 seconds, and compatriot Choi Eun-kyung took silver in 2:24.069.

    Byun Chun-sa, who crossed the line third, was disqualified, denying South Korea a clean sweep. The bronze medal went to China's Wang Meng, who won the gold medal in the 500m on Wednesday.

    China's star skater Yang Yang, a double gold medalist at the Salt Lake City Games, failed to make the final and finished a disappointing 11th.

    "I skated badly tonight. I felt short of energy in the semifinals," said Yang, who is bidding for a seat in the athletes' commission of the International Olympic Committee. Enditem