Speedskating Portion Concludes With Canada, South Korea Collecting Gold
Feb 16, 2022, 6:33 AM
Kristen Santos of Team United States competes in the Women's 1000m Heats on day five of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 09, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
The first of two medal races in speedskating began with the men’s 5000-meter relay where Canada stunned South Korea to claim the gold while in the women’s 1500 meter final it was Minjeong Choi who claimed gold.
The men’s 5000-meter relay saw multiple turns, none bigger than when China got bumped out of the race despite being in the third position at the time of its exit. With four laps to go, Canada, who was leading at the time, put on the afterburners and raced away from the rest of the field. South Korea desperately attempted to pull back the gap between them but ran out of time as Canada comfortably crossed over the line in the first place.
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South Korea finished second while Italy narrowly beat Russia to claim the gold.
The lone American on the evening, Kristen Santos, competed in the women’s 1500 meter B final following a semifinal race that saw her bumped illegally out of position. Santos concluded in second place.
No American was to be found in the A final, but world record holder from 2016 and recent Olympic record-breaker Minjeong Choi, was the main attraction as the South Korean looked to pick up her third Olympic gold medal.
It was the 23-year-old, Choi, who finished first with Italian legend Arianna Fontana coming in second and Dutch champion Suzanne Schulting in bronze.
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics
Just a year after Japan’s summer Olympics, the Games are back for a winter show in Beijing, China. The unusually short gap between Games is due to the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Strict precautions and enforced virus prevention protocol are in place to help keep athletes, coaches and personnel safe.
Beijing is the capital of China, with a population of more than 20 million people and the first city to host both a Summer and Winter Olympic games. It is one of the largest cities in the world and 15 hours ahead of Mountain Time. There are 13 different venues in and around Beijing that will be used for the Winter Olympics. A total of 109 events will be held in 15 different sports, and there will be a lot of Utah locals competing for medals. Keep up to date with them at our Olympic headquarters.
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