Gao becomes 1st Chinese man to win Olympic speedskating gold
BEIJING (AP) — Gao Tingyu thrilled the home crowd by becoming the first Chinese man to claim an Olympic gold medal in speedskating, winning the 500 meters on Saturday.
Gao added to the bronze medal he took in the 500 at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
Zhang Hong had been the only Chinese gold medalist at the oval. She won the women’s 1,000 eight years ago in Sochi.
Now, she’s got company.
Gao skated in the seventh of 15 pairs, setting an Olympic record of 34.32 seconds. Then he waited nervously on the infield as 16 other skaters took aim at his time.
None could beat it. Gao knew he had at least a medal after the next-to-last pair crossed the line.
But the real celebration began when the final group finished.
Gao was engulfed by his teammates and coaches. He then grabbed the red Chinese flag and sprinted around the inside of the track as the socially distanced fans roared their approval.
When he got next to the finish line, Gao stopped and let out a scream that could be heard throughout the only new venue built in Beijing for these pandemic-marred games.
The silver went to South Korea’s Cha Min Kyu, whose time of 34.39 gave him a matching medal to the one he earned four years ago in Pyeongchang.
Wataru Morishige of Japan took the bronze in 34.49, competing an Asian sweep of the podium.
Defending Olympic champion Haavard Lorentzen of Norway didn’t come close to repeating.
He finished 15th in 34.921 — more than a half-second off his Olympic-record time of 34.41 at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
Reigning world champion Laurent Dubreuil just missed out on the podium, finishing fourth in 34.552. He shook his head dejectedly when he saw the time on the scoreboard.
The top American finisher was 17-year-old Jordan Stolz, who was 13th in 34.85.
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