Former short track world champion Noh Jin-kyu will miss the Sochi Winter Olympics with a broken elbow, officials here said Wednesday.

   The Korea Skating Union said the 21-year-old suffered the injury in a fall during his practice at the National Training Center in Seoul on Tuesday.

   Noh was the overall champion at the 2011 world championships.

Once considered the top gun for South Korea, Noh finished only third in the national team trials in April last year and had only qualified for the 5,000ｍ relay event, but not individual races, for the Sochi Winter Games.

   Noh also injured his left shoulder during an International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup race in September last year, and the recent elbow injury was the final blow to his Olympic hopes.

   The KSU said it will soon name Noh's replacement for Sochi.

   South Korea leads all countries with 19 Olympic short track gold medals. Of the country's 45 medals at the Winter Olympics, 37 have come from short track.  (Yonhap News)