(L-R) Canada's silver medallist Charles Hamelin, Germany's gold medallist Robert Seifert and bronze medallist Travis Jayner pose after the men's 500 meter final during the ISU Short Track World Cup competition in Nagoya, central Japan, December 2, 2012.KIM KYUNG-HOON/Reuters
Canada's Charles Hamelin was less than two hundredths of a second from claiming his first victory of the World Cup season Sunday, racing to silver in a 500-metre short track speedskating event.
Skating with his younger brother Francois in the final, Charles crossed 0.018 seconds behind German Robert Seifert. American Travis Jayner claimed the bronze, while Francois Hamelin was fourth.
"My day went really well. I was confident, my blades were running well and the ice seemed to glide better than (Saturday) and Friday," Hamelin said. "I really liked my attitude in the race. I was aggressive and showed that I could be versatile by passing on the inside and the outside."
Charles Hamelin now has four silver and two bronze World Cup medals on the season, reaching the podium in each of his six races. He has a career total of 18 gold, 17 silver and 20 bronze medals in 44 World Cups.
Wang Meng of China won the women's 500 metres, while South Korea dominated the 1,500.
Wang finished in 44.595 to finish ahead of compatriot Liu Qiuhong, who clocked 45.111. South Korea's Shim Suk-hee was third in 45.149.
Lee So-youn of South Korea won the women's 1,500 in 2:31.814, 0.037 seconds ahead of Britain's Elise Christie. Kong Xue of China was third in 2:31.945.
Noh Jin-kyu of South Korea won the men's 1,500 in 2:19.482, beating compatriot Sin Da-woon by 0.058 seconds. Sjenkie Knegt of the Netherlands was third in 2:19.609.