500 metres, Women

Few people expected anybody else than China’s Wang Meng to grab the gold in this event. As the defending champion in the event, she had dominated the sport in recent years. At the 2008 and 2009 World Championships she had taken the overall title, the 500 m and the 1,000 m, winning the 1,500 m as well in 2008. In addition, she had won two more titles with the Chinese squad at the World Team Championships. In November 2008, Wang had also set the world record for this event, at 42.609. But the Canadians had some hope to contend with her. Among their entries were Kalyna Roberge and Jessica Gregg, who had won bronze medals at the World Championships in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The third Canadian team member was the talented Marianne St-Gelais, who had won the 500 m at the most recent World Junior Championships.

In competition, Wang left little doubt about her status. She bettered the Olympic record in the first round, quarter-finals and semi-finals (it was also briefly held by Katherine Reutter). Also through to the final were Gregg, Italy’s Arianna Fontana, who upset Reutter and Zhou Yang, and St-Gelais, who kept Roberge out of the final. The medal race itself was rather boring. Wang got off the fastest, and quickly opened a large gap. St-Gelais and Fontana skated close together, with another large gap to Gregg. Positions did not change after that, making Wang the second repeat winner of the event since Cathy Turner, who won it in 1992 and 1994.