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BEIJING, March 12 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese team won two medals at the 2017 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in the Dutch city of Rotterdam on Sunday.
Fan, 24, won the women's 500-meter race in 43.605 seconds, beating Canada's Marianne St-Gelais to second place with 43.630. It's Fan's fifth world championship gold medal over the distance. Kim Ji Yoo of South Korea finished third in 43.744.
Fan's form had been in doubt before the worlds, as she failed to win a 500m medal at the Asian Winter Games last month.
"China No.1!" exclaimed Fan, who swept 500m in three straight world championships from 2015 to 2017.
"I should say thank you to all the bad results in the past year, which made me relaxed at the last competition of this season," she said.
China also took a silver through two-time men's 500m world champion Wu Dajing, who lost to Dutch skater Sjinkie Knegt this time. Knegt won the race in 41.832, while Wu finished a close second in 41.891. Seo Yi Ra of South Korea ranked third in 42.036.
Defending world champion Han Tianyu was shut out of the semifinals.
Also on Sunday, Britain's Elise Christie won the women's 1,500m in 2:54.369, 0.12 seconds ahead of Canada's Marianne St-Gelais. South Korean star Shim Suk Hee ranked third in 2:54.817 with her compatriot and defending champion Choi Min-jeong a distant fifth.
South Korea's Sin Da Woon led the men's 1,500m in 2:16.919, while Canada's Samuel Girard trailed in 2:16.982. Another South Korean Seo Yi Ra came third in 2:17.051. Russia's Victor An, a six-time world champion, finished fourth ahead of Sjinkie Knegt.
