Winter Olympics hero Wu Dajing retires after failing to qualify for 2026 Games
Wu Dajing won China’s only gold medal of the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang and took another at the Beijing Olympics four years later
Wu Dajing, who won China’s only gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics, has retired after failing to qualify for next month’s Games in Italy.
The short track speed skater secured gold in the men’s 500 metres, setting a then world record time of 39.584 seconds in Pyeongchang eight years ago, and also claimed silver in the 5,000m relay in South Korea.
He was later part of the China team that won the mixed 2,000m relay at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Wu said he considered retiring four years ago but chose to continue because of his love for the sport, but he made fewer appearances in international competition and his last domestic competition came at the 14th National Winter Games in 2024.
In a low-key announcement on Weibo on Tuesday, Wu said he would no longer cling to the obsession of “one more fight”.
“When the words ‘retired’ were spoken, there were no regrets, only tranquillity,” he said.