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Hwang Dae-heon, of South Korea’s national short track speedskating team, flies the South Korean flag after winning gold in the men’s 1,500 meters on Wednesday at Capital Indoor Stadium at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. (Yonhap News)

South Korea proved itself yet again as a short track speedskating powerhouse by winning its first gold medal of the Beijing Winter Olympics in the men's 1,500-meter race.

After the heartbreak of unfair referee calls that disqualified two of its skaters from the men’s 1,000-meter semifinals, the South Korean short track team showed off its skills to perfection when short track wunderkind Hwang Dae-heon (23) emerged as the winner of the 1,500-meter short track speedskating finals on Wednesday, landing his first Olympic gold medal and moving past the sour memory of disqualification on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Chinese team fell apart, with not one of its skaters making it to the finals. Chinese spectators filling Capital Indoor Stadium fell silent, while officials from the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee as well as Korean audience members waving their country’s flag cheered passionately. It was a refreshing race that put Beijing to rest.

At 2:09.219, Hwang finished first in the men’s 1,500-meter short track speedskating finals of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics held in Capital Indoor Stadium, winning the South Korean Olympic team its first gold medal of the Games.

South Korea proved formidable on the ice. Despite the shocking penalty decision and an injury from Monday, South Korean skaters seemed to be in better shape than ever. While training on Tuesday, they met with reporters and showed an impressive level of confidence that wasn’t in the least overblown. Hwang told reporters, “There are still some competitions left. I ate better and slept better.”

Lee June-seo, who was also disqualified during Monday’s event, said, “I shrugged it off as it’s in the past.” Once again, they proved the hidden power of South Korean short track speedskating with skill — and skill alone.

South Korea’s performance on Wednesday was jaw-dropping, with all three skaters who competed in the 1,500-meter quarterfinals — Hwang Dae-heon, Lee June-seo (22) and Park Jang-hyuk (24) — advancing to the finals. At the finals, Lee came in fifth at 2:09.622, and Park came in seventh at 2:10.176.

In contrast, all three Chinese skaters who competed in the men’s 1500-meter quarterfinals failed to make it to the event’s finals. Sun Long and Zhang Tianyi were some of the last to finish in the quarterfinals and were thus quickly eliminated. Meanwhile, Ren Ziwei, who won two golds in the mixed 2,000-meter event and the men’s 1,000-meter event, was penalized and disqualified in the semifinals.

South Korean skaters were able to put on a great performance thanks to their strong willpower founded on their outstanding talent. The previous day, Hwang expressed his unflinching will during training, saying, “I’m disappointed in [yesterday’s] result, but I’ll keep knocking on the wall and break through it no matter what.” In terms of his strategy for Wednesday’s event, he said with wit, “I won’t say. There are too many people fluent in Korean [who might listen].”

Kim Sun-tae, former head coach of South Korea’s short track team, and former South Korean short track skater An Hyun-soo, who also goes by Victor An, are currently serving as the Chinese team’s head coach and technical adviser, respectively.

Park Jang-hyuk’s perseverance despite an injury also ignited the South Korean skaters’ competitive spirit. Park withdrew from the 1,000-meter semifinals on Monday after injuring his left hand, which required 11 stitches. Nevertheless, he returned to the ice on Wednesday and achieved great results.

South Korean male skaters are now preparing for the 500-meter preliminaries and the 5,000-meter relay, both scheduled for Friday. Hwang previously won silver in the men’s 500-meter event during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, and South Korean skaters are planning an all-out race in the 5,000-meter relay with their pride on the line.

By Lee Jun-hee, staff reporter

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