Short track: South Korea wins women's 3,000m relay gold

[February 18, 2014]  SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) — South Korea grabbed gold in the women's short track speed skating 3,000 meters relay at the Sochi Olympics on Tuesday, easing some of the pain from the Vancouver Games when they finished first but were later disqualified for illegal contact.

In a tight race decided only on the final curve, South Korea's Shim Suk-hee surged across the finish line, her fist pumping the air and with a huge smile on her face.

She hugged team mates Kim Alang, Park Seung-hi and Cho Ha-ri at center ice.

China was second across the line but were disqualified, leaving the Canadian team led by Marianne St-Gelais to win the silver medal.

The Canadians also won silver in Vancouver.

The Italian team led by Arianna Fontana, who won silver in the 500 and bronze in the 1,500m, took home bronze.

At the last Olympics in Vancouver, South Korea crossed the finish line first, but their joy turned to tears as they were disqualified for impeding, leaving China to take gold.

(Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; editing by Peter Rutherford)

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