Winter Olympics: Hwang Dae-heon takes short-track 1500m gold, GB's Farrell Treacy ninth

GB's Farrell Treacy finishes ninth in 1500m final after dramatic semi-finals

By Thomas Duncan
BBC Scotland in Beijing

South Korea's Hwang Dae-heon took gold in the in the short-track speed skating 1500m final as Great Britain's Farrell Treacy finishes ninth.

Treacy progressed from his semi-final after two of the favourites were disqualified for infringements.

The 26-year-old skated cleanly in the final but was off the pace as Hwang edged a close race.

Steven Dubois of Canada took silver ahead of Semen Elistratov from the Russian Olympic Committee.

Treacy - who failed to get past the quarter-final on his Olympic debut in 2018 - was eliminated in the 1,000m heats in Beijing after going for the finishing line too early, and this marked a fantastic turnaround.

"To make an Olympic final is an achievement for me," the Solihull-born skater told BBC Sport.

"I didn't think it was going to happen. I didn't think I was going to be here four weeks ago.

"So to be in an Olympic final makes these Games extra sweet, especially with how bad the first day was.

"I got a national record, so the time was good, it's an Olympic final so it's going to be fast but just a bit too much for me today."

Treacy was given the chance to earn Britain's first short-track medal since 1994 after staying clear of trouble in his semi-final to come in fifth, and then profiting when former Olympic champion Charles Hamelin and 1,000m winner Ren Ziwei were eliminated for infringements.

Several of the main contenders failed to make the final, with world record holder Sjinkie Knegt of the Netherlands another to miss out.

Hwang was the skater to eventually emerge victorious from a closely fought 10-man final, with Hungarian star Shaoang Liu finishing outside the medals.

'A magnificent performance' - analysis

Former British short-track speed skater Wilf O'Reilly on BBC TV

It was marvellous performance by Farrell Treacy. He didn't actually participate very much in the making of the race, he was very much following the rest of the group but it was a magnificent performance for him to even be in this final.

Three-time Olympic short-track speed skater Sarah Lindsay on BBC TV

This is huge for us. People don't get to watch short-track. Everybody who watches it for the first time, they love it. It's only shown every four years. To have someone represent Great Britain in such a good way and on such a big stage is so encouraging.

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