1,500 metres, Men

As is common in short track speed skating, the South Koreans were favored in this event. With Lee Ho-Seok, they entered the reigning world champion in the event. He was joined by two team mates, Seong Si-Baek and Lee Jeong-Su. The three Koreans demonstrated their might in the semi-finals, as they all won their respective heats. They were joined in the final by Apolo Anton Ohno (USA), the 2002 champion, Liang Wenhao (China), Olivier Jean (Canada), who qualified after being interfered with in the semi-finals, and J. R. Celski (USA).

With three men in the final, the Koreans were determined to make it a clean sweep. Their plan appeared to work perfectly, as they were occupying the first three places going into the final lap. While Lee Jeong-Su was leading, Lee Ho-Seok attempted to pass his two team mates on the inside of final curve. But he went too fast, and crashed out of the curve, dragging Seong along with him. Instead of three Koreans on the podium, only Lee Jeong-Su was left, who did take the gold. Behind him, Ohno and Celski took medals for the United States.

For Ohno, it was his sixth Olympic medal, the highest total for any short track skater, and also the highest for any American Winter Olympian (although Bonnie Blair, who he passed, had won more gold medals). Celski’s bronze medal was also remarkable. During the US Olympic Trials, he had crashed badly, severely cutting his thigh with his skate, which required some sixty stiches, and it seemed uncertain if he would skate again. With the help of Dr. Eric Heiden, Celski recovered in time for the Vancouver Olympics.

A notable participant in the B-final was Latvia’s Haralds Silovs. The 1,500 m European Champion for 2008 and 2009, he had competed in the 5,000 m on the long track earlier in the day, becoming the first Olympian to combine both speed skating variants at the same Games - and on the same day.