Hungary has had its most successful Winter Olympics ever. We collected the most memorable moments of the Beijing Winter Olympics from a Hungarian perspective.Continue reading
After winning gold medals in the 1500m and 500m on Saturday, Shaoang Liu won the 1000m final at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Montreal on Sunday to defend his overall title.
It was the first time in the history of the sport that a Hungarian competitor had such a successful performance at the World Championships, M4Sport reports. Liu Shaoang is also the first short-track athlete to win two gold medals in one day, and he is the first skater to defend his world title as well.
“I am very tired. But even though my body is tired, mentally there is no problem,” Liu said on Saturday after winning the gold medal in the 1500m and then the 500m.
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He also said:
I think (the 1000m final) was the hardest race I ever had in my life. I had to keep my head 100 percent focused.
Today was special because I didn’t have a good sleep or a good recovery. I had to keep calm in my mind.”
The two-time Olympic champion won it all, triumphing in the 500, 1000, and 1500 meters, so of course, the gold medal of the overall glory was his as well. The last time a victory of this magnitude happened was 20 years ago, also in Montreal. South Korea’s Kim Tong Sung achieved the feat in the men’s field, winning all three events and the overall, as Liu did this time.
📝 ‘Today was special’: Shaoang Liu (HUN) goes back-to-back as overall champion
🔗 https://t.co/VHUkQuvAhm#WorldShortTrack #ShortTrackSkating #UpAgain pic.twitter.com/HMjyHuXKZg
— ISU Speed Skating (@ISU_Speed) April 11, 2022
Bence Nógrádi and Péter Jászapáti, who were both competing in their first World Championships of their careers, also reached the semi-finals in the 1000m. Nógrádi finished 9th overall, Jászapáti 10th. After the 3000m final, Nógrádi finished 19th, Jászapáti 20th overall.
In the women’s 1000m, the two Hungarians, Petra Jászapáti and Zsófia Kónya were in the same quarter-final. Kónya finished 16th and Jászapáti 19th.
The Hungarian team finished fourth in the men’s 5000m relay, while the women’s 3000m relay team finished second in the two-team semi-final, thus finishing sixth.
Featured image: Shaoang Liu replaces John-Henry Krueger in the men’s 5000m relay B final at the Indoor Stadium at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics on February 16, 2022. Photo by Tamás Kovács/MTI