Skaters from South Korea and China have bested their European rivals on the short track, an oval-shaped course 111.12 meters long.

On Tuesday night, South Korean skaters won both gold medals on the first day of the short-track program in the Nagano Olympics, with China taking silver in both events.

The South Koreans, who were merely interested spectators when short track was introduced as an exhibition sport at the Calgary Games in 1988, stormed onto the scene after the sport was elevated to a medal event four years later in Albertville.

After grabbing two golds in the Albertville Games, the South Koreans tightened their the grip on the medals podium in 1994, winning four of the five events.

They have since turned short track into a national craze, and are confident about their gold harvest in Nagano as well.

Well before the short track program got under way, Kim Sang Kyom, head of the South Korean Olympic team, was already predicting that South Korea would take ''at least three golds'' out of the six up for grabs.

But not all Asian competitors have fared as well. Japan's short track skaters have not been able to keep up with their regional counterparts.

The best the home team could manage Tuesday was a fifth-place finish in the men's 1,000 meters and a fourth-place finish in the women's 3,000-meter relay. (Kyodo News)