In a dramatic turn of events at the inaugural men’s roller skating relay finals during the Hangzhou Asian Games, South Korea’s team loop faced disappointment as a premature celebration led to a loss of the gold medal.
A South Korean rollerskater, Jung Cheol-won, was the anchor for his three-man team in the men’s 3,000m relay final held at the Qintang Roller Sports Centre.
In a grave error of judgment, Jung, believing he had secured victory, prematurely celebrated by easing up and raising his arms.
However, this celebration proved costly as Huang Yu-lin from Taiwan made a last-minute lunge to cross the finish line first, winning by a mere one hundredth of a second with a time of 4 minutes 05.692 seconds. South Korea had to settle for second place in the event.
“I made a rather big mistake. I didn’t come at full speed to the finish line. I let my guard down too early,” said a sheepish Jung.
“I am very sorry. I apologise to my teammates and to our fans who supported us.
“We all worked very hard together for this, and it’s all my fault.”
Taiwan’s Huang said it was a “miracle” that he won, with his coach drumming it into him that you never give up.
“I realised they were celebrating, but I wanted to tell them, while you were celebrating, I was still fighting,” he said.
“I wasn’t sure whether I had reached the finish line in time.
“I thought it was such a shame that I was just a little bit short, and then the results came up on the screen showing that I had won by one hundredth of a second, and it was just a miracle.”
