Winter Olympics: Chinese speed skaters cry, hug and laugh after historic first gold medal at Beijing 2022
- Wu Dajing, Ren Ziwei, Fan Kexing and Qu Chunyu dominated the final of the short-track speedskating mixed relay event
- China survived a scare in the semi-finals when they finished third but were promoted to second after the USA were disqualified
China’s emotional speed skaters cried, hugged and laughed as they became the country’s first gold medallists of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics after a dramatic day at the Capital Indoor Stadium on Friday.
On the first full day of competition, the Chinese team of Wu Dajing, Ren Ziwei, Fan Kexing and Qu Chunyu, who were favourites going into the race, almost failed to reach the final but had a reprieve when the United States were penalised for blocking by an infield skater.
Cheered on vociferously by a small but enthusiastic crowd of about 300 people at the Capital Indoor Stadium, China crossed the finish line to win the short-track speedskating mixed relay final in a time of 2:37.348.
That fell short of the fastest time of the night – the Netherlands’ 2:36.437 in the quarter-final, which by default becomes the event’s Olympic record.
The Dutch, who were also fancied for gold, started strong but dropped out in the semi-final after one of their skaters skidded and fell. Italy took silver and Hungary bronze, after a collision with Canada in the final left them chasing for the whole race.
“These four years have been very hard, really hard,” Ren, who is also gunning for a medal in the men’s 1,000m individual event, said in a post-race interview. “I’ve never thought of experiencing four years that was this full of hardship. I really thank my coach and people around me.
“I have thought about what to say countless times, but all I can say is that I’m happy.”
Wu, who won China’s only gold medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, was emotional as he spoke to the media after the event.
“I’ve experienced too many things in these four years. This is this year’s first. I need to cry,” said a tearful Wu, who was unable to continue, and then gave teammate Fan a hug.
Fan, who swapped places with Zhang Yuting in the semi-finals, said she was relieved to have won after all her preparation.
“My first reaction was that everything that we experienced was worth it,” Fan said. “We did it.”
After a dazzling but short opening ceremony on Friday, the short-track team have given China the perfect start to the Winter Olympics, having already matched their gold tally from four years ago.
Data company Nielsen Gracenote has predicted 13 medals for China at their home Games, of which six are expected to be gold. Wu could help fulfil that tally in the men’s 1,000m while freestyle skier Eileen Gu, who is represented China instead of the United States where she was born, is also favoured to land medals in her three events.
“Why is it only me who’s happy?” Ren asked amid the emotional scenes, removing his mask for a brief moment to show his laugh after Wu struggled to say a word.
The final was a nail-biter, with the race coming under review again after a tight finish.
Although the race result had been shown on the stadium’s screen, the Italians – Arianna Fontana, Martina Valcepina, Andrea Cassinelli and Pietro Sighel – draped themselves in a national flag, just like the Chinese.
The only announcement that came after the investigation, however, was a penalty for fourth-placed Canada, and the few hundred spectators raised the volume at an otherwise quiet stadium.
Italy, however, had another achievement to celebrate as Fontana became the only short-track speed skater, male or female, to earn nine Olympic medals.
She now has one more medal than the sport’s heroes Apolo Ohno of the United States and Russian Viktor Ahn. Fontana, who made her Olympic debut at her home Games in Turin in 2006, also started the defence of her 500-metre title with a smooth qualification for the quarter-finals.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse, Reuters
