Team China
Speed skater Wang not to give up Olympic hope
(Agenciese)
Updated: 2010-02-17 11:54
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VANCOUVER - China lost its best chance to win a speed skating Olympic gold at the Vancouver Winter Games as top sprinter Wang Beixing finished third in the women's 500m event here on Tuesday.
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 Bronze medallist Wang Beixing (L) of China is congratulated by her Canadian coach Kevin Crockett after the women's 500 meters speed skating race at the Richmond Olympic Oval during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics February 16, 2010. [Photo/Agencies] |
The 24-year-old said she was half happy and half disappointed, but she would never give up chasing the dream.
South Korean Lee Sang-Hwa edged world record holder Jenny Wolf from Germany by 0.05 seconds to collect the second speed skating gold for South Korea at the Olympic Winter Games while Wang's result of 76.63 seconds in two races was 0.47 seconds behind the 31-year-old German.
"I have to say that I'm 50 percent disappointed because I failed to win the gold," said Wang, who will also compete in the 1,000m event but gets far fewer chances to achieve. "However, I'm still 50 percent happy for myself because it's the first time I stand on the Olympic podium."
At the 2006 Turin Olympic Winter Games, three-time veteran Wang Manli was so close to making the breakthrough but failed to show her sharpest form due to highly-burden pressure. When the 33-year-old ace took the silver in the women's 500m race, her 12-year-old younger teammate Wang Beixing made a reasonable seventh finish.
Four years later, Wang becomes the hot favourite to continue the Chinese speed skaters' pursue as she collected several World Cup victories and was only behind Wolf at last year's World Championships.
After finishing the first race in 38.48 seconds, Wang was ranked behind Lee and Wolf. She managed to improve her result to 38.14 seconds, but both Lee and Wolf skated into 38 seconds as the last pair in the second race.
"I performed better in the second race," said Wang, who tried to keep smiling all along during the interview. "My skating was a little bit tight in the first run. I wasn't relaxed enough. Both Lee and Wolf skated excellently today, especially Lee."
Unlike the German veteran Wolf who is really aggressive during competition, a low-key Wang is more like a delicate and amicable college girl. However, when she skated on the ice, her whizzing speed is threatening. Her personal best is only 0.02 seconds slower that the world record of 37.00 held by Wolf.
In the opinion of Ye Qiaobo, who grabbed Chinese speed skating's first Olympic medal in 1992, the Chinese hopeful needs to be more aggressive and open. But Wang didn't agree that her character was an obstacle for her achievements.
"I just try my best every time and that's enough," said Wang. "Of course I won't give up. I will definitely compete at the next Olympic Games."
