Short-track speed skater Ahn Hyun-soo won the country's first gold medal Monday at the Torino Winter Olympics.

The 20-year-old won the men's 15-hundred-meters with a time of two minutes, 25-point-341 seconds. Defending Olympic champion Apolo Anton Ohno of the United States blew his medal chances with a stumble in the semifinals.

Ahn's compatriot Lee Ho-suk won the silver with a time of two minutes, 25-point-600 seconds, while China's Li Jiajun took the bronze.

Ahn's first Olympic gold was especially sweet as the three-time world champion had been disqualified in the 15-hundred-meter semifinals at the 2002 Olympics.

He had also led that year's one-thousand-meter finals before a four-man crash relegated him to fourth place.