Lin Xiaojun of China celebrates after the Men’s 500m final match of the Short Track Speed Skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)
HARBIN, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Olympic champion Lin Xiaojun clocked 41.150 seconds in the Men’s 500m event to help China Short Track Speed Skating Team secure a hard-fought gold at the Harbin Asian Winter Games, while the ROK dominated the other four short track events on Saturday.
The Men’s 500m final was a roller-coaster of emotions with two restarts due to collisions on ice. Just into the race, China’s Sun Long and Kim Tae-sung of the ROK tangled at the first bend, sending both skaters out of the track. The judge immediately called for a restart, setting the stage for an even more intense showdown.
In the second lap of the restart, chaos erupted again as four of the five finalists crashed on ice. The judge halted the race again, disqualifying Kim with a penalty. When the skaters finally completed the race on the third try, Lin powered through to claim the gold, edging Park Ji-won of the ROK by 0.248 seconds. Jang Sung-woo of the ROK took bronze in 41.442 seconds.
Park became the biggest winner of the day, who claimed gold in both the Mixed 2,000m Relay and Men’s 1,500m.
“I had expected to earn three gold medals today, but I knew that the Men’s 500m gold wouldn’t belong to me—it’s beyond my ability, and getting a silver is already a surprise to me,” Park said.
“Lin has been my rival for a long time, and it’s never easy to race with him. With so many events packed into such a tight schedule, it’s been physically demanding,” he added.
“Our team cooperated really well today, and I felt our improvement as a whole. We’ll continue to face the challenges and keep pushing forward,” said Park, who will compete in the Men’s 5,000m Relay and 1,000m on Sunday.
Also on Saturday, Choi Min-jeong and Kim Gil-li of the ROK clinched victory in the Women’s 500m and Women’s 1,500m, respectively. ■
Lin Xiaojun (R) of China celebrates after the Men’s 500m final match of the Short Track Speed Skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
Lin Xiaojun of China celebrates after the Men’s 500m final match of the Short Track Speed Skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Xu Yanan)
Sun Long and Lin Xiaojun (R) of China celebrate after the Men’s 500m final match of the Short Track Speed Skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)
Lin Xiaojun (L) of China and Jang Sung-woo (C), Park Ji-won of the ROK compete during the Men’s 500m final match of the Short Track Speed Skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
Sun Long of China celebrates after the Men’s 500m final match of the Short Track Speed Skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)
Lin Xiaojun (R) and Sun Long of China celebrate after the Men’s 500m final match of the Short Track Speed Skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)
Sun Long (L) and Lin Xiaojun (R, front) of China compete during the Men’s 500m final match of the Short Track Speed Skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)
Lin Xiaojun (C) of China and Park Ji-won (R) of the ROK compete during the Men’s 500m final match of the Short Track Speed Skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Xu Yanan)
Lin Xiaojun of China celebrates after the Men’s 500m final match of the Short Track Speed Skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Xu Yanan)
Lin Xiaojun (C) of China celebrates after the Men’s 500m final match of the Short Track Speed Skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)
(from L to R) Park Ji-won of the ROK, Lin Xiaojun of China, Jang Sung-woo of the ROK and Sun Long of China compete during the Men’s 500m final match of the Short Track Speed Skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
Lin Xiaojun of China celebrates after the Men’s 500m final match of the Short Track Speed Skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Xu Yanan)