ROMTERDAM The Chinese short-track speed skating team had a memorable day on Saturday as they earned their 100th gold medal in the history of the competition with Sun Long’s triumph in the men’s 1,500-meter final at the World Championships in Rotterdam.
The Chinese team advanced quickly, as Lin Xiaojun won the gold in the men’s 500m event just two hours later, bringing China’s total number of gold medals to 101.
“Winning China’s 100th gold medal is a wonderful honor. As we have stated on several occasions. “You can always have faith in China’s team for short track speed skating,” an impassioned Sun declared following his victory.
When Guo Hongru won the women’s 3,000-meter race in 1989, she became the first Chinese athlete to win an Olympic medal.
As one of China’s most decorated national teams in winter sports, the short track outfit has produced many great skaters over the past few decades. Among them, the most dazzling star is Yang Yang – China’s first Winter Olympic gold medalist who was also invincible at the World Championships, sweeping 32 titles in total.
“I believe the numbers will get bigger and bigger, and the team will continue to improve. For us, this is just another new beginning,” the 23-year-old Sun added.
It was a roller-coaster day for Sun as he fell on the last corner before the finish line in the semifinal. After a nail-biting wait, the referee penalized the Italian skater Pietro Sighel for a foul, allowing Sun to advance to the final A.
In the final, Sun crossed the line in second place, but the leading South Korean, Hwang Daeheon, was penalized for foul, making his result invalid and handing the gold to Sun.
“This is the charm of short-track speed skating. There are many unexpected things on the track, and it’s important to summarize each collision promptly, analyze the problem, and try to prevent such accidents from happening to oneself in the next race,” Sun said.
“Always keep a broad view on the track and observe the position of each competitor. During the final, I saw them (Hwang Dae-heon and Park Ji-won) collide, but I didn’t rely on luck and still aimed for the championship,” he said. “We had prepared a very detailed game plan for the final, which helped me a lot.”
Local skater Jens van’t Wout timed 2:23.260 to take the silver, while Australia’s Brendan Corey finished third in 2:23.428.
Olympic champion Lin added another title for China two hours later, as he triumphed in the men’s 500m event, bringing his tally of world championships gold medals to seven.
The 27-year-old finished in 41.592 seconds, while Kazakhstan’s Denis Nikisha came second in 41.676. The bronze medal went to Canada’s Jordan Pierre-Gilles who clocked 52.289.
China’s Gong Li qualified for the final of the women’s 1,500-meter event but was unable to finish on the podium. With a time of 2:21.192, Kim Gil-li of South Korea emerged victorious, followed by Corinne Stoddard and Kristen Santos-Griswold.
In the women’s 500-meter skate, Chinese competitors Fan Kexin and Wang Ye both reached the semifinals but failed to reach the final.
In the final, Santos-Griswold, a Dutchwoman named Van Berkel, and Canadian Kim Boutin placed top three.
