In the rough-and-tumble world of short-track speedskating, competitors live on a razor’s edge and the difference between winning and wipeout can be a bump at high speed.
Collisions are unavoidable as the skaters fly around the icy bends only inches apart, and luck can play as big a part as skill in deciding who gets the medals.
Britain’s Elise Christie found this out the hard way at the Sochi Olympics on Thursday. Christie missed out on a silver medal when she was blamed for a crash in the women’s 500-metre final after she, Arianna Fontana of Italy and South Korea’s Park Seung-hi were sent sprawling on the ice following a collision on the first lap.
All three recovered and finished, but Christie, 23, was demoted to eighth place after crossing the line second.
China’s Li Jianrou avoided the pile-up to win, while Fontana was promoted to silver and Park to bronze. Christie left the rink in tears after claiming said she lost control because a competitor clipped her skates from behind.
“It was a 50/50 call, but everyone has different opinions,” she told the BBC. “There was a little gap and I knew I had more speed at that point. I used my instinct and went for it. Now I am regretting it.
“I thought she [Fontana] hit me. I wasn’t sure if it would go my way. I didn’t think it would be me [disqualified], but it was. You have to respect the decision.”
Christie’s heartbreak came less than an hour after she advanced to the four-woman final after her two main rivals, including China’s double world champion Fan Kexin, collided in the other semi-final.
The Scotswoman’s favoured races are the 1,000m and 1,500m, which are still to come, so she put on a brave face.
“I was really relaxed, as it was not my major event,” she said. “I will use the next day to get my head back together.”
Zhang Hong pulled off a stunning victory in the women’s 1,000m to give China its first Olympics speedskating gold.
Zhang, who had not done much on the World Cup circuit this season, skated in the seventh of 18 pairs based on her middling results. But she posted a time of 1 minute, 14.02 seconds, breaking the track record and just missing the Olympic mark set by Chris Witty at the 2002 Games.
Zhang was a spectator through the second half of the competition after the big guns took over once the ice was resurfaced. But her smile kept getting bigger as no one came close to beating her time.
Meanwhile, the Dutch ran their Sochi speedskating medal haul to 12. Ireen Wust took the silver in 1:14.69, while Margot Boer earned bronze in 1:14.90. Wust added to her gold in the 3,000m and now has five career medals. Boer picked up her second bronze in Sochi after finishing third in the 500.
It was another disappointing day for the Americans, who have yet to win a speedskating medal. Heather Richardson came in ranked No 1 in the World Cup standings, just ahead of teammate Brittany Bowe, who set a world record in the 1,000m at Salt Lake City just three months ago.
sports@thenational.ae
