3 AM! China claims its third Winter Olympic medal: Ning Zhongyan wins bronze, Dutch replay proves futile!

On February 12th Beijing time, the men's 1000m speed skating final at the Milan Winter Olympics unfolded as planned. Unexpectedly, Ning Zhongyan's excellent performance led him to clock a time of 1:07.34, securing a precious bronze medal. This is the third medal for China at this edition of the Winter Games. It was somewhat surprising, and the medal-winning process was turbulent. Despite the Dutch skater’s successful appeal for a rematch, it did not help him reach the podium, leaving him without a medal!

The Chinese team faced setbacks during this competition, failing to win gold in the first four days. On the fifth day, attention focused on the men's 1000m speed skating event, where China had two competitors: Ning Zhongyan and Lian Ziwen. This event is not Ning’s specialty; at the Beijing Winter Olympics four years ago, he finished fifth in this discipline, so the goal was simply to do his best. The format had two skaters per heat. Chinese skater Lian Ziwen competed first in the 11th heat but was disqualified due to a foul and recorded no time!

Ning Zhongyan started in the 12th heat. After the race began, he skated steadily, skillfully controlling his pace and pushing forward with full effort. During the race, he even performed a stunning "crescent blade" maneuver. In the final stretch, he accelerated and temporarily held first place. However, after the next heat featuring two top contenders—the American Stolz and Dutch skater Janing—Ning’s ranking dropped to third. The last heat’s Polish skater faded in the final stretch, allowing Ning to maintain third place. Just when it seemed the competition was over, a dramatic twist occurred: Dutch skater Venemas successfully requested a rematch. The tensest moment was for Ning Zhongyan, but fortunately, the rematch results did not surpass his time!

After many ups and downs, Ning Zhongyan finally secured the bronze for China with a time of 1:07.34—a truly hard-earned achievement. American star Stolz dominated the race, winning gold with a record-breaking 1:06.28, while Dutch skater Janing took silver with a time of 1:06.78!

With this, China adds another valuable bronze medal. For Ning Zhongyan, this represents a major breakthrough. This medal will surely boost his confidence as he aims for gold in his main event, the 1500m speed skating. In the latest medal standings, China ranks 13th with a total of three medals!

Written by / Sports Fiction