1,500 metres, Men

Although in recent years he hadn’t been the dominant force he’d once been, Viktor An was still expected to contend for the medals in the 2018 Olympics when it was announced that he’d been barred from competing. With the event very competitive in recent years, this left room for a host of favorites. 2014 World and Olympic champion Charles Hamelin was still expected to contend, as were his successors as World Champions, Semyon Yelistratov and Han Tianyu. The Koreans didn’t even field reigning World Champion Sin Da-Un, but with Hwang Dae-Heon having gone 2-1-1-2 in the World Cup, they were definitely considered for the medals. From Europe, Sándor Liu and Sjinkie Knegt were also highly regarded.

All of the favorites survived the heats, and only Han failed to proceed into the final, although Liu only proceeded due to being obstructed in the semis. In fact, skaters were being obstructed and advanced in all three of the semi-finals, which meant the final saw a large 9-person field. In front of an enthusiastic home crowd, the Koreans – Hwang and Lim Hyo-Jun took charge of the race, with Hwang commanding the lead. Knegt then took to the front, while behind him, Hamelin collided with Hwang and Fauconnet, forcing all of them out of contention. The Korean audience had little time to mourn over Hwang’s fall, as Lim then slipped past Knegt. The two battled it out over the last lap, and while Knegt came within 0.07 seconds, Lim held on for the gold. Behind them, Yelistratov finished a clear third. Yelistratov, competing as an Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR), was the first Russian to win an Olympic medal under that name. Like An, Yelistratov’s participation had seemed uncertain as in 2016 he had tested positive for doping. That test, however, was for meldonium. It had only been put on the doping list at the start of 2016, and in the first months of the year, a slew of (mostly Russian) athletes tested positive, most notably tennis player Mariya Sharapova. As the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) at that time was unsure how long the drug would remain in the body of an athlete, it was impossible to determine if Yelistratov had taken it illegally or when it still was legal. This meant he was cleared of charges, and – later – allowed to compete in Pyeongchang.