1,000 metres, Men

There was no obvious skater that stood out as a pre-race favorite for the 1,000 m. The defending Olympic champion, Viktor An had been barred from competing in Pyeongchang, and world titles since 2014 had gone to four different skaters: An, Park Se-Yeong (not selected to the Korean team), Charles Hamelin and Seo Yi-Ra. In the same vein, the four World Cups earlier in the season had been won by different skaters: Lim Hyo-Jun, Sjinkie Knegt, Wu Dajing and Sándor Liu.

Of these, Wu and Knegt eliminated themselves due to penalties in the quarter-finals, while the others all reached the semis. That was the last stage for Hamelin (also due to a penalty), while Lim, Liu and Seo proceeded into the final. They were joined by the USA’s John-Henry Krueger and Samuel Girard, who was advanced after being disadvantaged by teammate Hamelin. Girard seemed eager to lead the pack in the final. This turned out to be a smart tactic, as Liu caused a large crash that involved both Koreans (Lim and Seo), leaving only Krueger and Girard on their feet. Krueger pressed Girard going towards the finish, but the Canadian held on for the gold. It was only the second time in Olympic history the event was not won by a skater born in South Korea; the first time came in 2002 when a similar crash propelled Australian Steven Bradbury to the gold. Behind Krueger and Girard, Seo was quickest to get up from the carnage, earning the bronze medal.