Elistratov proves unshakeable ahead of Olympics with 1500m World Cup win

It was a golden day of restart madness at the ISU Short Track World Cup in Beijing as Semen Elistratov won the men's 1500m gold in a thrilling final rerun.

Russian Elistratov initially crashed out of the race, along with China's An Kai, Hungarian Shaolin Sandor Liu and Kazakhstan's Adil Galiakhmetov before a restart was called.

An was quick off the line the second time around, with Belgium's Stijn Desmet following in pursuit to put the duo well ahead of the rest of the field.

But it proved too fast to keep up as Elistratov and Galiakhmetov overtook them comfortably with two laps remaining.

Elistratov just managed to hold off Galiakhmetov to win gold but the Kazakh took silver for his first medal in an international short track competition.

Elistratov said: "Today was a crazy day. I'm feeling very happy with this win.

"After the crash I thought, oh my god we need to go again. My legs were feeling really tired, but the hard work I put into training has paid off."

Silver medallist Galiakhmetov said: "I'm very happy with my first medal.

"I can't explain what goes through my mind right now. This medal means everything to the people of Kazakhstan. It's also the first step to the Olympics in Beijing for me."

Poland's Natalia Maliszewska also managed a momentous comeback after crashing in the women's 500m final.

Maliszewska was confidently out in front in the initial race before losing her balance and taking down three other competitors Ð her first mishap of what had looked to be a perfect for the 26-year-old.

Maliszewska returned to the restarted final with her nose patched but her spirit unshaken as she dominated second time around, crossing the line in a time of 43.226 to take the gold.

The Polish skater finished ahead of Olympic champion Italy's Arianna Fontana in silver and Korean skater Choi Min-jeong in bronze.

Saturday's last medal event saw a Hungarian 1-2 in the men's 500m final, with Liu speeding to the gold medal ahead of his teammate John-Henry Krueger in a time of 40.711 after another restart.

Kazakhstan's Denis Nikisha took the bronze, clocking 40.876 after both Wu Dajing and Jordan Pierre-Gilles were disqualified for false starting.

The first gold medal of the World Cup was claimed by Korea's Lee Yubin in the women's 1500m final with a dominant triumph, while Canada's Courtney Sarault just claimed the silver ahead of Kristen Santos of the USA.

Racing will continue on Sunday, with finals in the men's and women's 1000m, mixed team 2000m relay, women's 2000m relay, and men's 5000m relay.