Three South Koreans won gold medals on the first day of finals at the short track world championships in Bulgaria.

Choi Min-jeong, Lim Hyo-jun and Hwang Dae-heon each claimed gold at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Saturday.

Choi finished first in the women's one-thousand-500 meter race, edging out Kim Boutin of Canada. Choi won the gold medal in the event at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics last year and grabbed the world title in the distance a month later.

In the men's one-thousand-500 meter event, Lim Hyo-jun finished first with a time of two minutes and 31-point-632 seconds, beating Samuel Girard of Canada.

In the men's 500-meter race, Hwang Dae-heon grabbed gold, defeating Wu Dajing of China for his second consecutive world title in the distance.