Relay (5,000 metres), Men

Following Russia’s victory in the event in Sochi, the squad hadn’t medalled at World Championships. With Viktor An out of competition for Pyeongchang, they weren’t even able to field a team. The strongest nations in recent years had instead been China (2015-16 World Champions) and Netherlands (2014, 2017 World Champions). Neither nation had managed to score a win in the 2017/2018 season, though, with Canada, South Korea and United States raking up the wins in the World Cup.

The small field meant that medal contenders would already be eliminated in the semi-finals. The first heat saw Netherlands being disqualified following a last ditch attempt to overtake Canada, which proceeded along with China. In the second semi, the Americans had to contend with third place behind Korea and Hungary. The Hungarians hadn’t achieved any good results in the season, but had medalled at both the 2015 and 2017 worlds, so their performance wasn’t a major shock. The final was a close affair, with top favorites China and host nation Korea swapping the lead. Around the halfway point, 1,500 m champion Lim Hyo-Jun stumbled and fell, putting the Koreans out of contention. This left China in the driver’s seat, but they were passed by the Hungarians and Canadians close to the end. The Chinese moved back into second and closed in on the lead, but Sándor Liu held on to lead for a surprise win. Not only was it Hungary’s first ever gold medal in short track, it was the country’s first ever gold in the Winter Olympics. Despite having attended all Winter Olympics since 1924, Hungary had only won six medals prior to this event, with the previous one coming back in 1980. The core of the Hungarian team was formed by two brothers, Sándor and Shaoang Liu. They were born in Budapest to an Hungarian mother and a Chinese father.