China wins women's 3,000m short track relay, S. Korea disqualified

2010-02-25 07:35

China's Sun Linlin (L), Wang Meng (2nd L), Zhou Yang (front in R) and Zhang Hui celebrate after the women's 3000m relay final of short track speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada, Feb. 24, 2010. China's team won the title of the event with a world-record-breaking time 4:06.610. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

VANCOUVER, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Twice Olympic champion Wang Meng led the Chinese women to top the podium of the 3,000m short track speed skating relay with a world record at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games here on Wednesday, as South Korea was disqualified for impeding.

"We went into the race prepared for the worst. I'm so thrilled that we won," said the 24-year-old Wang, who awarded China its second gold medal in Vancouver from the women's 500m short track a week ago.

"I was in charge of the first half of the relay and Zhou Yang was in charge of second half. Everyone stayed calm throughout the race and I'm so proud of them," she added.

Wang and teammates Zhou Yang, Sun Linlin and Zhang Hui clocked in four minutes and 6.610 seconds for the gold medal, the fourth title China has won at the Vancouver Games.

The new mark broke the Chinese team's own world record of 4:07.179 set in 2008, and awarded China its first ever relay crown since short track speed skating became an Olympic event in 1992.

Host Canada earned the silver in 4:09.137 and the United States finished the distant third in 4:14.081, after the judges reviewed the video replay and disqualifed South Korea for impeding.

Tania Vicent of Canada said they had planned to stay behind China and South Korea knowing uncomparable against the two.

"We knew the Chinese and Korean teams were fighting it out, so our tactic was to stay right behind them and take advantage of their mistakes. We got a record time for Canada, we can't do better than that," said Vicent.

It took a while at the side of the rink on Wednesday evening for the Chinese coach Li Yan to raise objection before the judges' decision set off huge arguments with the Korean coaches but jubilation from China and the other teams.

Involving four teams and 16 skaters in total, the relay started with Wang Meng in the lead and the Koreans bumped and jostled around the oval to overtake the position halfway.

It was not until the last few laps that South Korea's Kim Min Jung intended to block China's Sun, which resulted in the Korean team being disqualifed and the Chinese team being awarded the gold medal.

"She was trying to overtake me and she couldn't get through, so I guess that's how the collision happened," recalled Sun after the final. "I think the referee's decision is fair."

Kim, however, declined to admit her intension, and said: "I don't know what the reason is. I don't have any clue what the referee was saying. It doesn't make any sense at all."

Those South Korean flags held aloft proudly by Cho Ha Ri, Kim Min Jung, Lee Eun Byul and Park Seung Hi drooped when their disqualification was announced.

After the race, the Olympic broadcasting service showed that China's Zhang Hui came off the ice with a cut to the chin, raising the suspicion about her injury.

Wang Meng, however, explained to the media at the mixed zone that Zhang's cut was not gotten during the competition.

"It was an accident. We were celebrating after the referee's decision which disqualified the Korean team, and she was accidentally cut in the face by a blade," Wang said.

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