By Julien Pretot
BEIJING (Reuters) – Wu Dajing believes his team’s victory in the short track speed skating’s mixed relay on Saturday will inspire China at their home Olympics in Beijing.
Wu took the last leg in the event and just held off Italy’s Pietro Sighel to earn the hosts their first gold medal of the Games.
The win came at the end of a thrilling night at the Capital Indoor Stadium after the Chinese looked all but eliminated when they finished third in the semi-final.
But the race came under review and the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) ended up being disqualified for obstruction, along with the U.S. who were penalised for blocking.
“We were a bit worked up after the semi-final race but we stuck together,” Wu told a news conference.
All the stress and efforts eventually paid off for Wu, Ren Ziwei, Fan Kexin and Qu Chunyu.
“Every day when we finish training, we have blood in our throats. And the moment we won, I thought it was all worth it. We’ve made it,” said Fan.
China have already won as many golds as they did at the Pyeongchang Games four years ago, when Wu claimed the country’s only title in the 500 metres.
Eight other medals came along but none was gold.
“We are very happy to win this first gold medal for China. I will be a huge motivation for our team mates in other events,” Wu said.
“I’m sure it will boost them. We’ve given an amazing start to the journey of Chinese athletes in the Games. I’m sure we’ll continue the winning streak here at the Capital Stadium.”
It will first boost the Chinese short trackers, who can hope for more success, notably with Wu and Ren in the individual events and the 5,000 metres relay.
The short track events resume on Monday with the women’s 500 metres and the men’s 1,000 metres.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot and Krystal Hu; Editing by Ed Osmond)
