Canada's St-Gelais into semis of 500

Sochi, Russia (SportsNetwork.com) - Canadian short track speedskater Marianne St-Gelais made the semifinals of the women's 500 meters on Thursday.

The 2010 silver medalist finished second in her four-woman quarterfinal to South Korea's Park Seung-Hi.

China's Fan Kexin had the top time among the eight qualifiers, finishing in 43.288 seconds.

American Emily Scott and Canadians Jessica Hewitt and Valerie Maltais all failed to reach the semifinals, which are coming up Thursday.

Italy's Arianna Fontana, the 2010 bronze medalist, advanced.

China's Meng Wang, who won the last two Olympic gold medals, was injured last month and could not compete in Sochi. She holds the world and Olympic records.

There are also heats for the men's 1,000 meters and semifinals for the men's relay on Thursday.