Short Track Speed Skating: Zhou wins women's 1500m

中石油

Feb 20, 2010



VANCOUVER (AFP) - China's Zhou Yang won the Olympic Games women's 1,500-metre short-track gold on Saturday while teammate and title favourite Wang Meng was disqualified.
South Korea's Lee Eun-Byul and Park Seung-Hi finished second and third in the eight-woman final.
Zhou clocked 2min 16.993sec with Lee at 2:17.849 and Park at 2:17.927.
"I told myself a few days ago 'Zhou Yang, you can do this'," the 18-year-old Olympic newcomer said. "I believed in myself. I'm ecstatic."
Ranked top in the 1,500m World Cup series for two seasons running, Zhou added: "This gold medal is something I wanted. But there is another event I want to win. Stay tuned."
Zhou, who was a member of China's 3,000m gold-medal team at last year's world championships, is also due to race in the relay and the 1,000m in Vancouver.
Wang, fresh from her back-to-back 500m wins, was disqualified after bumping Katherine Reutter when the American overtook her second spot around the final turn on the next-to-last lap in her semi-final.
Reutter crashed into the sideboards, taking along front-running Cho Ha-ri of South Korea. Wang also slid into the boards.
Hungary's Erika Huszar finished first with Bulgarian Evgenia Radanova second to qualify for the final.
After a meeting, the referees disqualified Wang and allowed Cho and Reutter to advance to the final by invoking a rescue measure under competition rules.
The 24-year-old Wang, who won medals of all colours in Turin four years ago including the 1,000m silver and 1,500m bronze, was aiming for a fifth Olympic medal.
"I don't know what happened. I was not rushing. I was in a good position with one lap to go. I guess if the referee disqualifies me, there is nothing I can say," said Wang, who is also due to compete in the 3,000m relay and the 1,000m.
Zhou said: "When the American and Korean collided I didn't pay too much attention. It happens all the time in short track.
"Before competition, our coach told us that anything can happen in the rink. I did not expect to enter the final alone.
"This gold medal will change things. It will give me more confidence. It will give my mum a better lifestyle."
Reutter could only lament her missed chance as she finished fourth.
"This was my race and it didn't happen," the American said. "I tried to pull an inside pass. It didn't happen and I messed up some people around me and I'm sorry about that."
sps-ea/dj10
© AFP, 2009-2010