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From the Olympics Toward Tomorrow
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Nishitani wins shock 500m, Chun racks up 4th gold
 Takafumi Nishitani |
19:00- Start
Takafumi Nishitani sprinted from nowhere to grab Japan's first-ever Olympic short track speed skating gold medal Saturday night, leading a 1-3 Japanese finish in the men's 500 meters event.
South Korea's Chun Lee Kyung, meanwhile, nipped China's Yang Yang (A) by half a boot to defend her women's 1,000-meter title while Canada closed the Olympic short track competition by breezing to the men's 5,000-meter relay gold.
Before Saturday, Nishitani's speed skating resume was limited to a 500-meter victory in last December's national championships and a No. 14 ranking in the world at this distance prior to the Olympics.
But the 19-year-old from Osaka went into the 500-meter races as Japan's ''secret weapon'' and on Saturday he was deadly.
In the semifinals, Nishitani beat South Korean world champion Kim Dong Sung, winner of Tuesday's 1,000 meters. And in the final, he commanded the pace from the start and crossed the finish line in 42.862 seconds, well ahead of An Yulong of China.
''I was very relaxed about the whole thing and just tried to skate a normal race,'' Nishitani said. He apparently was so confident of winning a medal that he had brought a pair of clean trousers and hair gel for the medals ceremony.
Japan's Hitoshi Uematsu clocked 43.713 seconds for the bronze and his first Olympic medal. Pre-race favorite and former world champion Marc Gagnon of Canada slipped around a curve midway through the second lap and crashed out.
It was Japan's second and third Olympic medals in the sport, following the country's bronze in the men's 5,000-meter relay at the 1992 Albertville Olympics.
In the women's 1,000-meter final, Chun kicked her right skate forward and across the finish line just ahead of Yang Yang (A) to deny China its first-ever gold medal in a winter Olympics.
Yang led going into the final curve but Chun maneuvered to the inside of the track and streaked ahead just in time for victory in 1 minute, 42.776 seconds.
Chun won her second gold medal of the Nagano Games and her fourth Olympic gold overall, making her the most successful short tracker of all time. She also took the women's 500-meter bronze on Thursday.
Yang was later disqualified for cross-tracking, allowing Chinese teammate Yang Yang (S) to win the silver and South Korean Won Hye Kyung the bronze.
''It's very difficult to answer,'' said Chun when asked about how she felt about Yang's disqualification. ''She's one of the toughest skaters, so I wish she could have finished. But in short track, almost anything can happen to anyone.''
Chun and Yang shared the women's overall title at last year's world championships at this same rink.
Japanese national champion Ikue Teshigawara missed a spot in the finals and finished fifth overall.
Canada won the men's 5,000-meter relay in 7:06.07 after the skaters of rival teams South Korea and China collided into each other midway through the race.
South Korea recovered quickly and won the silver 0.70 second behind while China got the bronze.
The Nagano Games proved disappointing for Japanese world bronze medalist Satoru Terao, who slipped around a curve and skidded out of contention during a 500-meter quarterfinal heat. (Kyodo News)
Results of short-track speed skating men's 500 meters finals Saturday in the 18th Olympic Winter Games at White Ring, Nagano:
Final A (1st to 4th place)
1. Takafumi Nishitani, Japan 42.862 seconds
2. An Yulong, China 43.022
3. Hitoshi Uematsu, Japan 43.713
4. Marc Gagnon, Canada 1:15.605
-----
Final B (5th to 8th place)
1. Chae Ji Hoon, South Korea 42.832
2. Dave Versteeg, Netherlands 42.933
3. Andrew Gabel, U.S. 43.072
4. Kim Dong Sung, South Korea 43.090
-----
Final standings
1. Takafumi Nishitani, Japan
2. An Yulong, China
3. Hitoshi Uematsu, Japan
4. Marc Gagnon, Canada
5. Chae Ji Hoon, South Korea
6. Dave Versteeg, Netherlands
7. Andrew Gabel, U.S.
8. Kim Dong Sung, South Korea
Results of short-track speed skating men's 5,000-meter relay finals Saturday in the 18th Olympic Winter Games at White Ring, Nagano:
Final A (1st to 4th place)
1. Canada (Eric Bedard, Derrick Campbell, Francois Drolet, Marc Gagnon) 7 minutes, 6.075 seconds
2. South Korea (Chae Ji Hoon, Lee Jun Hwan, Lee Ho Eung, Kim Dong Sung) 7:06.776
3. China (Li Jiajun, Feng Kai, Yuan Ye, An Yulong)
7:11.559
4. Italy (Michele Antonioli, Maurizio Carnino, Fabio Carta, Diego Cattani) 7:15.212
-----
Final B (5th to 8th place)
1. Japan (Satoru Terao, Naoya Tamura, Takehiro Kodera, Yugo Shinohara) 7:01.660 (O)
2. United States (Andrew Gabel, Thomas O'hare, Rusty Smith, Eric Flaim) 7:02.014 (O)
3. Britain (David Allardice, Nicholas Gooch, Matthew Jasper, Matthew Rowe) 7:06.462
4. Australia (Steven Bradbury, Richard Goerlitz, Kieran Hansen, Richard Nizielski) 7:15.907
-----
Final standings
1. Canada
2. South Korea
3. China
4. Italy
5. Japan
6. United States
7. Britain
8. Australia
(O=Olympic record)
Results of short-track speed skating women's 1,000 meters finals Saturday in the 18th Olympic Winter Games at White Ring, Nagano:
Final A (1st to 4th place)
1. Chun Lee Kyung, South Korea 1 minute, 42.776 seconds
2. Yang Yang (S), China 1:43.343
3. Won Hye Kyung, South Korea 1:43.361
Yang Yang (A), China Disqualified
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Final B (5th to 8th place)
1. Amy Peterson, U.S. 1:37.348
2. Ikue Teshigawara, Japan 1:37.693
3. Kim Yun Mi, South Korea 1:37.777
4. Isabelle Charest, Canada 1:37.813
-----
Final standings
1. Chun Lee Kyung, South Korea
2. Yang Yang (S), China
3. Won Hye Kyung, South Korea
4. Amy Peterson, U.S.
5. Ikue Teshigawara, Japan
6. Kim Yun Mi, South Korea
7. Isabelle Charest, Canada
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Copyright 1998 The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun