hankyoreh

South Korean short track speedskater Hwang Dae-heon reacts after winning gold in the men’s 1,500-meter short track event at the Beijing Winter Olympics on Wednesday. (Yonhap News)

Skating an “untouchable” race — that was his strategy.

Hwang Dae-heon, 23, claimed the 2022 Winter Olympics gold medal in the men’s 1,500-meter short track speedskating event Wednesday at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing.

After the event, he said, “The judging is up to the referees. I skated cleanly, but if I hadn’t, that’s how it would have been ruled. So, it was a learning experience.”

“I made it my strategy to skate cleaner so that nobody could touch me,” he said.

Hwang showed an overwhelming competitive performance in the final Wednesday, holding his lead throughout the final eight laps. After his experience the day before in the men’s 1,000-meter semifinal — where he pulled off a superb pass of two Chinese skaters, only to end up disqualified on a penalty judgment — he proved his ability by capturing gold.

“I thought the 1,000-meter was a clean race, but I prepared to make today’s even cleaner,” he explained.

“I made it my strategy to skate the cleanest in a clean race.”

He added, “Whatever the outcome, I kept banging on the wall. I figured that if you keep pounding like your life depends on it, there’s nothing you can’t do.”

Now that he has earned South Korea its first gold medal at the Olympics, Hwang is preparing for two more races for the gold with the 500 meter and the men’s 5,000-meter relay. The 500-meter event is one where he came away with a surprise silver at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

One of the younger faces in Pyeongchang, he made his return to Beijing as an established ace. Now his race has just begun.

By Lee Jun-hee, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]