New national record set in men's 10,000 m speed skating

Inner Mongolia player Han Mei pictured during the women's speed skating competition at the 14th National Winter Games. [Photo/Inner Mongolia Daily]

The speed skating open group and short track speed skating youth group events at the 14th National Winter Games concluded on Jan 14, producing a total of 14 gold medals and nine gold medals, respectively, over the course of four competition days.

During the competition, athletes from the Liaoning team swept the top three positions in the men's 10,000 m speed skating, with Wu Yu clinching the men's 10,000 m championship with a record-breaking performance, breaking the national record with a time of 13 min 16.51 sec. Shen Hanyang and Wang Shuaihan claimed the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Regarding his record-breaking achievement, Wu remained calm and stated "The previous record was set just last year. After a year of training and thorough preparation, my hopes were high that I would break it."

At the 14th National Winter Games, Wu secured gold medals in the men's 5,000 m and 10,000 m long-distance events, having previously broken national records in various long-distance events in different competitions.

Following her victory in the women's 3,000 m speed skating the previous day, Han Mei from the Inner Mongolia team once again claimed gold in the 5,000 m event with a time of 7 min 12.28 sec.

Han won a total of three gold medals and one silver at the 14th National Winter Games.

When asked about her most memorable medal, she chose the silver medal in the women's 1,000 m speed skating.

"I didn't expect to perform so well in the first 600 m. In the final lap, while trying to rush through some actions, I wasn't fully prepared," she said with a smile.

In the men's team pursuit event, the Liaoning team triumphed over the Heilongjiang team, with the Xinjiang team securing third place. The Tianjin team claimed the gold medal in the women's team pursuit, while the Jilin and Xinjiang teams took home the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

The short track speed skating youth group events also concluded on the same day, with four gold medals awarded.

Yang Jingru from the Heilongjiang team won the women's 1,000 m championship, while Zhang Tianyi from the Jilin team claimed the men's 1000 m gold.

The top three in the women's 3,000 m relay were the Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Inner Mongolia teams, while the top three in the men's 5,000 m relay were the Jilin, Henan, and Inner Mongolia teams.