The short track speed skating women's 500 meters once again missed the medal, and the "sharp knife on ice" once had a blunt tip

Fan Kexin

If the short track speed skating team is the "ice sharp knife" of the Chinese Winter Olympic Army, then the women's 500 meters is the tip of this sharp knife. Since short track speed skating was listed as an official event at the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics, the Chinese team has stood on the podium of the event for seven consecutive Winter Olympics, winning a total of 4 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze, a record that ended abruptly until the Pyeongchang period. On February 7, the Chinese players returned empty-handed again. Four years ago in Pyeongchang, Fan Kexin and Qu Chunyu were somewhat stopped in the semi-final due to the interference of off-field factors, so in the women's 500 meters at the doorstep, the outside world saw more powerlessness.

In the competition on the 7th, Fan Kexin, who played in the Winter Olympics for the third time, was eliminated in the quarter-finals; Qu Chunyu, who played in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, was cancelled due to fouls in the semi-finals; Zhang Yuting, who made her debut at the Olympic Games, finally advanced to the final, but under the attack of a number of masters such as Fontana, Shulting and Kimbuting, she finally ranked fourth with all her efforts.

Today's dilemma has already begun. Taking the three athletes participating in the Beijing Winter Olympics in the World Cup series as an example, The last time Fan Kexin won the women's 500 meters championship was traced back to the 2016-17 season; Qu Chunyu never won the championship, only winning two silver medals in the 2019-20 season; as for the young Zhang Yuting, she never won a medal in this event.

Since Li Yan helped the Chinese team win the first Olympic medal in Albertville, the Chinese short track speed skating women's general has maintained a strong position in the 500 meters event. In 1994, Lillehammer and Zhang Yanmei won the silver medal; in 1998, Nagano, the runner-up was Yang Yang; in 2002, in Salt Lake City, Yang Yang achieved zero gold medals for China in the women's 500 meters, while teammate Wang Chunlu, who competed in the same field, won the third place; in Turin in 2006 and Vancouver in 2010, Wang Meng stood on the top podium of this project twice in a row; in 2014, Li Jianrou, who was not dominant in Sochi, won the gold medal with the help of the goddess of luck.

From Pyeongchang to Beijing, two consecutive missed women's 500m medals undoubtedly shows that China's short track speed skating has no advantage in its traditional strength. Reinstalling the tip of the knife for the "ice sharp knife" has undoubtedly become a top priority for the Chinese team. (Photo: Xinhua News Agency)

Author: Chen Haixiang

Edit: Gu Miao