Harbin: Wu Yu clinched the gold medal as Chinese speed skaters achieved a clean sweep in the men's 5,000m podium at the Harbin 2025 Asian Winter Games (AWG) on Sunday. This victory added to the three gold medals secured by Chinese skaters in the Speed Skating Oval of the Heilongjiang Ice Training Center on Saturday, reinforcing China's dominant position in the medal tally for the sport after two days of competition.
According to Namibia Press Agency, South Korean skaters claimed the remaining three gold medals on offer, with Kim Min-sun winning two from the women's 500m and team sprint events on Sunday. In the men's 5,000m race, Liu Hanbin initially set the fastest time at six minutes and 29.93 seconds before Wu Yu and Muhamaiti Hanahati took to the ice in the final pairing. Wu overcame a slow start to finish in 6:27.82, securing the gold, while Hanahati placed third with a time of 6:31.54.
Wu expressed his surprise at leading the podium sweep, stating, "We thought of a podium sweep, but I didn't expect myself to be on top of it because I wasn't at my best before the Games. This marks a breakthrough for Chinese speed skating in the long distance, but it's just a beginning. We hope to achieve more at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics."
In the women's 500m, South Korea's Kim Min-sun and Lee Na-hyun secured a 1-2 finish, clocking in at 38.24 seconds and 38.33 seconds, respectively, reversing their positions from the women's 100m event on Saturday. China's Tian Ruining completed the podium with a time of 38.57. Kim expressed her joy at winning the gold medal, saying, "I'm grateful and happy, because 500m is my main distance. I'm so happy that I can get a gold medal today. I have two more races now."
Kim's triumph continued as she helped South Korea defeat China by 0.23 seconds in the women's team sprint, securing another gold medal. She expressed her gratitude, noting, "I'm so grateful because it's a team event. The three of us practiced a lot, so we really wanted to get a medal. But we knew China is really strong, and it would be hard to get a gold, but being able to win it eventually makes me even happier."
The speed skating competitions are set to continue on Monday with events in the men's 500m, women's 3,000m, and men's team sprint.