500 metres, Men

The Canadian crowd were betting on a gold medal in this event. Charles Hamelin had been a dominant factor in the 500 m since the last Olympics, winning the 2007 and 2009 world titles, while finishing runner-up to Apolo Anton Ohno in 2008. In addition to Ohno, Seong Si-Baek of South Korea was a contender, having held the world record in the distance since 2007, with 40.651. All three favorites reached the final with little trouble. Hamelin made the best impression, clocking two sub-41-second times and bettering the Olympic Record. The trio was complemented by a second Canadian, François-Louis Tremblay.

The final was, as expected, a closely contested affair. Seong went into the final curve first, and seemed headed for the gold medal. But he then stumbled, possibly after a slight touch of Hamelin, and crashed out of the curve. Hamelin nearly fell, but kept on his feet, crossing the line first nearly backwards. Behind these two, Tremblay had also fallen, due to interference from Ohno, who had finished second behind Hamelin. For this, the American was disqualified, and the silver medal went to Seong, who had quickly recovered, and the bronze to Tremblay. The two Canadian medals set off great celebrations, as Charles Hamelin sought out his girlfriend Marianne St. Gelais, who had won a silver medal in the women’s 500 m.