World record-holder Jeremy Wotherspoon of Canada won the season opener for the World Cup sprint speedskating events Saturday, ahead of up-and-coming skaters Toyoki Takeda of Japan and Janne Hanninen of Finland.
Wotherspoon clocked 35.89 seconds in the men's 500 meters to hold off Takeda and Hanninen, who finished tied for second, by 0.12 second at an indoor rink in Seoul.
Nagano Olympic champion Hiroyasu Shimizu of Japan picked up a minor calf injury at the start and slumped to 13th in 36.32.
Local favorite Choi Jae Bong emerged as a surprise winner in the men's 1,000 meters in 1 minute, 11.64 seconds.
Canadian Mike Ireland took second in 1:11.95 and Lee Kyu Hyuk of South Korea third in 1:12.17.
In the women's races, Catriona LeMay-Doan of Canada captured the season-opening 500 meters in 38.99, finishing 0.06 second ahead of second-placed Svetlana Zhurova of Russia.
Japan's Eriko Sanmiya finished third in 39.23.
The women's 1,000 title went to Chris Witty of the United States in 1:19.01.
Monique Garbrecht of Germany placed second in 1:19.12, while Sanmiya took a share of third place with Germany's Sabine Volker.