Kim Min-sun became the first Four Continents speed skating gold medallist ©ISU

South Korea’s Kim Min-sun and Kim Joon-ho claimed the first gold medals at the International Skating Union (ISU) Four Continents Speed Skating Championships by triumphing in the 500 metres competitions in Milwaukee.

The inaugural event features only athletes from outside Europe at Pettit National Ice Center.

A Four Continents event in figure skating has been held since 1999 but the concept has been expanded into both short track and speed skating for 2019-2020.

Kim Min-sun became the first gold medallist at the championships as she earned women's 500m victory in a time of 38.41.

She saw off the challenge of Canada’s Brooklyn McDougall, who was forced to settle for the silver medal in 38.52.

Bronze was claimed by Kim Hyun-yung, with the South Korean skater finishing in 38.55.

Kim Joon-ho ensured a South Korean 500m double by winning the men’s competition by clocking a track record 34.59.

Canada’s Alex Boisvert-Lacroix, who competed against Kim in the last pairing to skate in the final, secured silver in 34.72.

Bronze was claimed by Kazakhstan’s Roman Krech in 34.94, with Canada’s Laurent Dubreuil just 0.01 seconds off a podium place in fourth.

Kim would earn his second gold medal of the day as part of South Korea’s men’s team sprint squad.

He joined Cha Min-kyu and Kim Jin-su to win the event in a time of 1:21.08.

The podium was completed by teams from China and Kazakhstan, who finished in 1:21.35 and 1:21.41.

Canada were crowned winners of the women’s team sprint event, with Noémie Fiset, Béatrice Lamarche and Brooklyn McDougall powering to victory in 1:29.82.

The trio were 0.88 seconds quicker than their South Korean rivals, while China finished in 1:33.38 to round off the podium.

The home crowed were able to celebrate success in the women’s 3000m event, with the United States’ Mia Kilburg-Manganello taking the tile in 4:07.005.

The American had edged ahead of rival Nadezhda Morozova in the closing stages, with the Kazakhstan skater eventually ending 0.80 behind the winner.

Japan’s Nana Takahashi achieved a time of 4:11.009 to round off the top three.

Kazakhstan’s Vitaliy Schigolev and Dmitry Morozov achieved a one-two in the men’s event by finishing the 3000m in 6:19.335 and 6:19.481 respectively.

Bronze went to the United States’ Emery Lehman, who clocked 6:23.291.

Competition will continue tomorrow with the 1500m and mass start events.