(profile) South Korea's Mo wins surprise gold in Olympic debut

VANCOUVER, Feb. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Mo Tae-bum made an impressive
showing at the Vancouver Winter games, capturing a surprise gold medal in the 500
meter speed skating event and clocking a personal best in his Olympic debut.

The sprinter celebrated his 21st birthday on Monday with South Korea's first ever
gold medal in the speed skating event. The country has claimed only one silver
and bronze in the event before Vancouver.
Mo finished first in the 500m event at the 2007 Junior World Championships and
captured two gold medals in the 1,000m and 1,500m at last year's Winter
Universiade held in China.
brk@yna.co.kr
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