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Queen of the ice returns to win 500m
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-03-13 08:50
History repeated itself as China's returning Olympic champion Yang Yang (A)
led a Chinese one-two-three finish in the women's 500m on the second day of the
2005 ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships at the Beijing Capital
Gymnasium yesterday.
Just as in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games, in the final race
Yang dominated the field - which included South Korean Choi Eun-kyung and
Bulgarian Evgenia Radanova - right from the beginning, cruising to victory
comfortably in a time of 45.038 seconds.
Wang, bronze medallist in the first day's 1,500m race, came in second in
45.129 seconds, followed by Fu in 45.232 seconds.
In Salt Lake City, Yang broke China's long-time winter Olympic gold medal
jinx with her 500m win after failing in the opening 1,500m race. This time, Yang
won her first world championship title after returning from retirement.
"I am so thrilled with the victory," beamed Yang, who retired after the Salt
Lake City Games and went to study in the United States.
After a one-year absence, Yang decided to return to the ice and soon
rediscovered her form by claiming two titles at the ISU World Cup stop in the US
last November.
"The biggest obstacle for me right now is my poor physical condition, and I
hope to improve it gradually, with one year before the 2006 Turin Winter Olympic
Games."
Yang's victory should be attributed to China's efficient teamwork, as the two
foreigners failed to break the block formed by the three Chinese skaters.
"Team cooperation is very important in short track speed skating, so the
rising of the overall strength of our team benefits my recovery as well," Yang
said.
Like Yang, the silver medallist Wang also emphasized her victory was down to
team power.
"We showed strong team strength in the final this time, so who won in the end
is not important," commented the 20-year-old defending champion. "Yang's quick
comeback is a big encouragement for me and the sweeping victory this time will
raise our confidence a lot as well."
With their strengthen and confidence, the Chinese skaters are looking forward
to good results in next year's Winter Olympics as well.
"The 2006 Turin Games is the goal for us all," said Yang. "As short track
skating races are full of unexpected accidents, it is still hard to predict. But
we hope we can repeat today's sweeping victory there."
Canadian joy
On the men's side, Francois-Louis Tremblay and Charles Hamelin from Canada
finished one-two as South Korean Ahn Hyun-soo came in third.
The two Canadians came up with two laps to go and finished in 42.106 seconds
and 42.135 seconds respectively. The defending champion Ahn battled his way to
third place on the final lap and settled for bronze by 42.185 seconds.
"It's great for us to finish top two today," said the Canadian sprinter
Tremblay, who previously unexpectedly grabbed the 1,500m bronze medal. "I'm
proud to win my first title in the World Championships and it is a good step
forward to tomorrow's races."
The Chinese men's team were a total failure yesterday as none of them, not
even 30-year-old veteran Li Jiajun, could manage a place in the 500m
semi-finals.
But they still have a chance in the relay as they reached today's 5,000m
relay race final as the second finisher of the group, following team Canada. The
USA and South Korea also qualified for the final.
The three-day tournament goes into its final day today with six gold medals -
women's and men's 1,000m, 3,000m and relay races - up for grabs.
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