South Korea's No. 1 speed skater Lee Sang Hwa held off a strong challenge from the host Chinese here Thursday to win the women's 500 meters, the first gold medal up to grab at the Harbin Winter Universiade.

Lee, who finished fifth in the same discipline three years ago at the Turin Winter Olympic Games, twice smashed the universiade record to be crowned, after she clocked 38.20 seconds in the first race and 38.16 in the second to top the general standings.

The event's previous mark at winter universiade is 38.64, set two years ago in Turin by Lee, who turns 20 years old next week.

China's favorite Yu Jing, the reigning national title holder who is ranked only next to Asian champion Wang Beixing in the country, settled for the second place after pairing with Lee in both the races and finishing respectively on 38.42 and 38.47.

Lee Sang Hwa (C) of South Korea shows the mascot Dong Dong of the game with China's Yu Jing (L) and Zhang Shuang during the awarding ceremony of women's 500m speed skating finals at the 24th World Winter Universiade in the Heilongjiang Speed Skating Gym of Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 19, 2009. Lee Sang Hwa claimed the title in the event, the first gold medal of the Winter Universiade. Yu and Zhang took the silver and bronze respectively. [Liu Dawei/Xinhua]

Her compatriot Zhang Shuang was the third after taking the first race in a time of 38.95 and the second at 38.35, narrowly beating teammate Ren Hui, a double gold medal winner in the 2005 universiade, with a sum time difference of 0.01 second.

Lee's personal best in women's 500m is 37.81, which she got at the World Single Distances Championships in 2007 in Salt Lake City and set the world junior record.