2014 Winter Olympics speed skating results: China earns first gold medal in short track
China had a successful day on the speed skating track.
Paul Gilham
China takes gold in women’s 500m
The short track was the main speed skating event on Thursday at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The women’s 500-meter race went through three rounds on Thursday and ended with a new country being added to the list of gold medalists. China picked up its first gold medal with a victory in women’s short track speed skating. Jianrou Li took home the gold medal with a time of 45.263, which was almost six full seconds faster than Italy’s Arianna Fontana, who earned the silver medal with a time of 51.250. Korea’s Seung-Hi Park, who had a final time of 54.207, won the bronze medal.
... and the women’s 1000m
The women’s 1000-meter races were the final events to take place on Thursday. China’s Zhang Hong, the winner of the event at the Asian Single Distances Championships each of the last two years, won gold while the Netherlands continued their dominance in long-track speed skating by picking up silver and bronze.
Field set in two men’s events
In men’s speed skating, initial heats took place for the 1000-meter race. Canada’s Charlie Cournoyer had the best time with 1:24.787, but American Chris Creveling wasn’t far behind at 1:25.069. The rest of that competition will take place on Saturday.
The field has also been set for the men’s 5000-meter relay finals. Russia, China, the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, the United States, Italy, Canada and Korea will compete for medals in the event on Feb. 21.
More on the Winter Olympics:
• Hockey: Men’s schedule | All 12 men’s rosters | USA roster analysis
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