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Beijing Winter Olympics 2022
SportChina

Winter Olympics: China bag gold, silver in dramatic men’s short-track 1,000m race; Su Yiming takes second in slopestyle

  • Short-track speed skater Ren Ziwei wins his second gold of the Winter Olympics, with Li Wenlong taking silver
  • Snowboarder Su Yiming claims silver of his own in slopestyle; Eileen Gu qualifies fifth in freeski big air competition

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China’s Ren Ziwei celebrates after winning gold in the men’s 1,000m short-track speedskating. Photo: Reuters
Josh Ball
China’s Ren Ziwei claimed his second short-track speedskating gold medal of the Winter Games on Monday night, in a drama-filled men’s 1,000m final.
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Li Welong won silver, the host nation’s second of the day after Su Yiming’s in snowboard slopestyle. Hungary’s Shaoang Liu finished third, benefiting from his brother’s misfortune; Sandor Liu Shaolin, who actually crossed the line first, was disqualified.

The Hungarian might consider himself unfortunate, as Ren appeared to grab him as they both threw their skates to the line in the tightest of finishes. But Liu Shaolin was penalised twice, for making contact just a moment earlier in the race and an illegal lane change in his dive for the line.

Hungary’s Sandor Liu Shaolin (left) falls over the finish line just ahead of China’s Ren Ziwei in the final of the men’s 1,000m short-track speedskating. Photo: AFP
Hungary’s Sandor Liu Shaolin (left) falls over the finish line just ahead of China’s Ren Ziwei in the final of the men’s 1,000m short-track speedskating. Photo: AFP

“Today, three of us went into the finals,” a tearful Ren said in post-race interview with state broadcaster CCTV. “I really want to thank my two teammates. Team China competed with one heart.”

Once again the sporting action largely overshadowed the politics, although the publication of an interview with Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai in French newspaper L’Equipe, and the need for both Russian and Canadian women’s ice hockey teams to wear masks while playing because of a Covid-19 scare meant both issues remained in the public eye.

The host nation had three men in the final, but Wu Dajing, the defending Olympic champion at 500m, was unable to keep up with Ren, who he won the mixed-relay with on Saturday.

In the final of the women’s 500m, China’s Zhang Yuting was always going to struggle against Arianna Fontana, a nine-time Olympic medallist and defending champion, Suzanne Schulting, who set an Olympic record over the distance on Saturday, and world-record holder Kim Boutin.

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