Star savors golden moment on historic night for China's speed skating

Gao Tingyu broke a decades-old jinx when he won Saturday's men's 500m speed skating final at Beijing 2022.

The 24-year-old made history at the National Speed Skating Oval by becoming the first Chinese opening-ceremony flagbearer to win gold at either edition of the Olympics in the nation's 42-year Games history.

Clocking an Olympic-record 34.32 seconds to beat Cha Min-kyu (34.39) of the Republic of Korea and Wataru Morishige (34.49) of Japan, Gao also became the first Chinese man to top the podium in an Olympic speed skating event.

The previous record was 34.41, set by Haavard Holmefjord Lorentzen of Norway four years ago in Pyeongchang, where Gao won bronze.

"I did what I promised－to upgrade the bronze to gold," Gao said. "There was no flagbearer jinx. I raced on home ice and I absolutely gave it my all."

China's Gao Tingyu (R) in action during the speed skating men's 500m match at National Speed Skating Oval, Beijing, China, Feb 12, 2022. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Born in Yichun, a city in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, Gao started skating at the age of 8. After impressing in the junior ranks, he soon emerged as a strong contender on the international stage, claiming 500m gold at the Asian Winter Games in February 2017. Ten months later at a World Cup meet in the United States, he set a new national record (34.34) over the distance.

After his breakthrough at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, Gao continued his upward curve, winning the 500m at a World Cup meet in Poland in November 2021, and finishing second in Calgary, Canada, later that season.

On Saturday, Gao raced in the seventh of the 15 pairs, and shot to the top of the rankings with his Olympic record, which the likes of defending champion Lorentzen and reigning world champion Laurent Dubreuil of Canada could not beat.

Gao said the main difference from his triumphant Beijing run compared to his bronze-medal finish in Pyeongchang was his mentality.

"This time I skated on home ice and I felt both nervous and excited, which is good for competing in important races," Gao said.