(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Samuel Girard skated to an Olympic gold in short track speed skating's 1000m race.
Golden🥇
— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) February 17, 2018
Olympic rookie Samuel Girard wins #PyeongChang2018 gold for #TeamCanada's first Olympic title in the men's 1000m: https://t.co/bLIleTtK1o#speedskating pic.twitter.com/oXcfZ7YBXp
It initially looked like Girard might not get a chance to race for the podium, when he crossed the line last in his semifinal. But he was advanced in the final; unfortunately it came at the expense of teammate Charles Hamelin, who was penalized in their semifinal.
This is Girard's first Olympic medal and Canada’s first ever Olympic gold in the event and it is the first time Canada has won an Olympic medal in the men’s 1000m since Salt Lake City 2002, where Mathieu Turcotte claimed bronze. Canada had actually won four straight 1000m medals up to that point before the lengthy drought began.
Girard's gold medal time was 1:24.650, John-Henry Krueger of the USA won silver with a time of 1:24.864 and Korea's Yira Seo won bronze with a time of 1:31.619.
In the 1500m race, Girard finished just off the podium with a 4th place result. He has one more race scheduled, the 5000m relay race that will take place on Thursday, February 22, 2018.
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