Hwang Dae-heon, Lim Hyo-jun & Shim Suk-hee
Hot on the heels of their medal-winning performances on home ice at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, the Republic of Korea's trio of YOG stars continued their impressive form at the recent World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Montreal, Canada.
Hwang, fresh from winning 500m silver in PyeongChang, secured his first world title over the same distance and went on to win overall bronze following a highly successful championships. The 18-year-old, who won the 1,000m title at the Winter YOG Lillehammer 2016, also teamed up with fellow YOG graduate Lim Hyo-jun as part of Korea's victorious 5,000m relay team.
In addition to relay gold, Lim – the Olympic 1,500m champion who won 1,000m gold at the Winter YOG Innsbruck 2012 – claimed two individual silver medals in Montreal, finishing second in both the 1,000m and 1,500m.
Shim Suk-hee, a double YOG champion at Innsbruck 2012, also excelled in Canada, adding the 1,000m world title to her growing medal collection, as well as two silver medals – in the 1,500m and overall – and gold in the 3,000m relay.
Christin Hussong
The German javelin thrower, who finished fourth at the YOG Singapore 2010, showed excellent early-season form at the European Throwing Cup in Leira, Portugal, as she claimed silver behind Norway's Sigrid Borge. Hussong, the 2011 World Youth champion and 2015 European U23 gold medallist, threw 60.02m to beat compatriot and 2015 world champion Katharina Molitor (59.80m), with Borge sealing gold with a throw of 62.42m.
Yomif Kejelcha
The 20-year-old continues to stake his claim as the next great Ethiopian long-distance runner, as he successfully defended his 3,000m title at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Great Britain. Kejelcha, who also won the 3,000m crown at the YOG Nanjing 2014, finished in a time of 8:14.41 ahead of compatriot Selemon Barega (8:15.59) and Kenya's Bethwell Birgen (8:15.70).
Danil Lysenko & Mariya Lasitskene
Mariya Lasitskene underlined her recent dominance of women's high jumping at the World Indoor Championships, winning gold to add to her two outdoor world titles and her 2014 indoor crown. The 25-year-old, who also won gold at the YOG Singapore 2010, was the only woman to clear two metres, with her jump of 2.01m, enough to beat Vashti Cunningham, of the USA, to the top of the podium.
Lasitskene's compatriot Danil Lysenko began to follow in her considerable footsteps as he claimed his first global senior title in Birmingham, clearing a personal best 2.36m to beat reigning world champion Mutaz Essa Barshim, of Qatar (2.33m). The result was a reverse of last year's World Championships in London, Great Britain, when Barshim beat Lysenko to gold, and bodes well for the 20-year-old Nanjing 2014 high jump gold medallist as he prepares for the outdoor season.