The Beijing Winter Olympics short track speed skating competition ended on 16, and 9 gold medals were attributed to their owners. At the PyeongChang Winter Olympics four years ago, the rise of European teams initially formed a pattern of competing for deer. After the addition of a small event at the Beijing Winter Olympics, the competition has become more and more fierce, and the situation of the various powers competing for hegemony and each leading the way has further deepened.
Runners in short track speed skating on Feb. 16. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Lei
The Pyeongchang Winter Olympics south Korea dominated three events, with China, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy and Hungary dividing up the remaining five events.
After four years of adjustment, the European forces have become more and more powerful, although the South Korean team still leads the short track speed skating medal table with a record of two gold and three silver, but they are the same as the Chinese team and the Dutch team, and they have won two gold medals, and there is no obvious advantage. It is worth mentioning that the South Korean team's dominance in the middle and long distance events is still strong, winning the gold medal in the men's and women's 1500 meters event, and winning the silver medal in the men's and women's 1000 meters events.
On February 5, the Chinese team won the mixed team relay championship in the short track speed skating event. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Lei
The Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Team China won one gold and two silver medals, ranking third in the medal table. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Chinese team won two golds, one silver and one bronze, and tied for second place in the medal table with the Netherlands. The Chinese team won the gold and silver medals in the men's 1000m event and won the championship in the mixed team relay of the dominant event.
Unlike the Chinese team in Vancouver and Sochi, which are "strong women and weak men" and only one opponent of the South Korean team, the Chinese team at the Beijing Winter Olympics not only faces the impact of European powers, but also presents a "strong male and female weak" situation as a whole, and the women's team has a significant gap with the Korean team and the European team in individual matters.
Dutch Susanna Schultin (right) competes in the match on Feb. 16. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xiong Qi
The Dutch star Schulting, who performed well in this Winter Olympics, almost single-handedly lifted the Dutch team to the second place in the medal table. She won gold in the women's 1000m and women's 3000m relays, silver in the women's 500m and bronze in the women's 1500m.
Shultin's biggest rival can be described as Italy's Fontana, who won the silver medal by beating Shultin in the women's 500m and again taking a slight lead over Shultin in the women's 1500m. Under the leadership of Fontana, the Italian team finally won a gold, silver and bronze result, ranking fourth in the medal table.
In addition to the strong rise of the Dutch team and the Italian team, European teams such as Hungary and the Russian Olympic Committee team also showed strong strength in the men's event. Hungary's Liu Shaoang won gold in the men's 500m and bronze in the men's 1000m and mixed team relays. The Russian Olympic Committee team won silver in the men's 500m event and bronze in the men's 1500m.
On February 16, the men's 5,000m relay final of the short track speed skating event at the Beijing Winter Olympics was celebrated by Canadian players after the game. Photo by Ju Huanzong, Xinhua News Agency
The Canadian team continued to show strength in the men's 5,000m relay, winning the gold medal in the event by a large margin on the last day of the short track speed skating. Previously, The Canadian team won silver medals in the men's 1500 meters and bronze medals in both the men's and women's 500 meters.
From the "Korean Wave" of the Turin Winter Olympics, to the return of the Sino-Korean confrontation at the Vancouver Winter Olympics to the balance of power, to the birth of the Russian "upstart" at the Sochi Winter Olympics, to the beginning of European strength at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the short-track speed skating competition will completely present the situation of the rise of the crowd at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Short-track speed skating is the most contributed gold medal in the history of the Chinese team in the Winter Olympics, in the next Winter Olympic cycle, how to change the status quo of the imbalance in the strength of men's and women's projects, how to hold the position and seek a breakthrough under the attack of strong teams such as South Korea, Europe and the United States, may be the most worthy of consideration.
Reporters | Wang Junbao, Wang Jingyu, and Zhao Xuetong