1,000 metres, Women

As in the 500 m, the pre-Olympic favorites were Jeon I-Gyeong (South Korea) and Yang Yang (A). Because they had both failed to make the final in that event (though Jeon won a bronze through the B Final), they were poised to do better in this competition. In the quarter-finals, Yang appeared in top shape, beating Jeon’s world record with 1:31.991. The two then raced through the second semi-final together, qualifying easily. Both of them had a teammate in the final as well, with Won Hye-Gyeong qualifying for South Korea, and Yang Yang (S) for China. These two initially traded the lead in the final, before their favored compatriots took over. Yang (A) then appeared to grab China’s first ever Winter Olympic gold, leading going into the final curve. But Jeon slipped inside her. Yang tried to hold off the Korean with her arm, but failed and crossed the line in second place. This move even cost her a medal, as the jury disqualified her. Behind Jeon, Yang (S) and Won took home the medals.

The two Yang Yangs actually have different names in Chinese characters, but they are translated to Latin script in the same way. To distinguish them, the letters L and S were initially used, referring to their ages, and not their heights or weights. As Yang Yang (A) objected to the term “large”, she started using an A, which may refer to her birth month of August, as opposed to Yang Yang (S)’s birth month of September.