Wang Meng reaps China's first gold in Turin

Chinese Wang Meng won the women's 500m short track speedskating Wednesday night, reaping China's first gold medal in the Turin Winter Olympic Games.

The Olympic debutant led all the way to clock 44.345 seconds, winning the nation's third winter Olympic gold after Yang Yang's two in 2002.

Bulgarian Evgenia Radanova, world record holder and 2002 silver medalist, had to settle for a silver again with a time of 44.374 seconds.

Canada's Anouk Leblang-Boucher got the bronze in 44.759 with Chinese Fu Tianyu disqualified for cross tracking.

The 20-year-old Wang, who has won four World Cup races over 500m, proved herself as the most consistent short tracker in the world.

Her victory helped ease China's pain of losing an expected gold in the women's 500m long-track speedskating when World Cup leader Wang Manli came second to Russia's Svetlana Zhurova on Tuesday.

Like China's Athens Olympic champion Liu Xiang, Wang jumped to the podium and waved excitedly to the cheering crowd.

"Till I jumped onto the podium did I know my name had not yet been announced," Wang said, laughing. "I was just so excited and anxious to get onto the podium."

Wang, however, admitted she wasn't satisfied with her performance.

"Actually I was pretty nervous tonight," Wang said. "My run was not very good from the beginning. My coach has been encouraging me all the time, telling me to trust myself. I followed the advice and I made it today."

Yi Min, head coach of the Chinese women's team, said he was worried before the semifinals because Wang didn't skate to her best in the quarters.

"Wang Meng seemed to be a little tense and was not herself," Yin told Xinhua. "She should have won more easily."

Wang, known for calmness in competition, said she didn't understand why she was suddenly so nervous.

"I didn't feel pressure before I came to Turin. But here I realized that the Olympics is totally different from the World Cup or the world championships. That thought made me nervous," Wang said.

Still immersed in excitement, Wang tried to calm down.

"I should find composure quickly...I still have many races to go," she said. "I shouldn't think too much about this gold. I need to focus on the following races and try to win more medals."

Radanova, who has been overshadowed by Wang for most of the season, accepted her defeat gracefully.

"I am happy with my second silver," she said.

The 28-year-old said she had witnessed the rise of a new generation of skaters over the past four years.

"They have big power...I believe they will have very good future," she said.

A track cyclist too, Radanova is one of the few athletes who competed both in winter and summer Olympic Games. She finished 12th in track cycling in the 2004 Summer Olympics.

"I love both events. They are all very emotional," she told Xinhua, adding "I hope I could attend the 2008 Beijing Olympics."

Canada's Leblang-Boucher was stunned by a surprise bronze. Finishing last in the four-skater final, she was awarded the bronze after Fu Tianyu was disqualified.

"It's really good. I am really happy. It's difficult for me to realize, but it's true," she said.

South Koreans Kang Yun-Mi and Jin Sun-Yu, tipped as biggest threats to Chinese skaters before the competition, were edged out in the semifinals.

Source: Xinhua