On Sunday, Shaoang Liu won Hungary’s first individual gold medal in Beijing in the 500-meter speed skating final, setting several records. He is the first Hungarian to become an individual Olympic champion at the Winter Olympics, and also Hungary’s first double Olympic champion at the Winter Games, and the only one with four medals. With Liu’s 500m gold and the previous two bronze medals, the Hungarian team moved up to 18th place in the medal table.
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In the final, Shaoang Liu immediately took the lead, and although he was pressured by Russian Ivliyev, he could not overtake him, so he took first place after 40 seconds and became the Olympic champion.
Shaoang Liu, Hungary’s first individual Olympic champion in the 500-meter speed skating final, said he woke up Sunday morning in Beijing thinking he would be an Olympic champion.
The night before, when I went to bed, I was already thinking about the races and trying to evoke positive feelings. In the morning I woke up with the feeling that I would be an Olympic champion,”
said the athlete, who won bronze in Beijing in the 1000m and with the mixed relay and won gold with the men’s relay four years ago in Pyeongchang.
Inside I was expecting it, but I was just telling myself that, and I felt like the last time when I won the world championship over that distance,”
he added.
Shaoang Liu recalled that it was very difficult for him to get to Beijing because he had contracted coronavirus before his scheduled departure. When he arrived in the Chinese capital a week later than the others, he felt uncomfortable because he had to be alone while his teammates were already training.
It took me a day to feel good, then the mixed speed skating relay went well, but the 1000m, 1500m, and men’s relay were not as successful as we would have liked. After a while I said to myself, I can’t wait for luck, I have to do it myself… This gold medal is not mine but the whole team’s,”
Shaoang said. He continues to hope that
this success will bring joy to many people, and for Hungary it will be an experience to remember fondly.”
Shaoang revealed that his brother, Shaolin Sándor Liu, who was disqualified in the 1000-meter final after a video inspection, was also very proud of him and they will go home happy.
The Hungarian delegation won its third medal in the Chinese capital when the mixed relay team and Liu Shaoang both finished third in the 1000m.
Sources: Nemzeti Sport, 24.hu
Featured photos by Tamás Kovács/MTI