Taiwanese speed skater Huang Yu-ting (???), who announced plans to retire after the Beijing Winter Olympics, competed in her second event in the games and finished 26th in the women’s 500-meter race on Sunday evening.
The 33-year-old Huang registered a time of 39.23 seconds, finishing ahead of four other athletes in the 30-skater race. She dropped from her 22nd-place finish in the same race at the Pyeongchang Games in 2018, when she posted a time of 38.98 seconds.
Erin Jackson of the United States won the gold, recording a time of only 37.04 seconds, ahead of Miho Takagi of Japan and Angelina Golikova of the Russian Olympic Committee, with times of 37.12 and 37.21, respectively.
Huang, who was paired with Yekaterina Aidova of Kazakhstan in the Group 6, showed hesitancy at one of the corners, but said in an interview with the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee after the event that she was glad she didn’t fall.
“I felt I started off not too bad, but I did actually miss 1 or 2 steps. I kept telling myself not to think too much and to focus on skating,” Huang said. “I focused on chasing my opponent, but my speed got too fast and I didn’t fully control myself at the second corner.”
Huang said she was not satisfied with her performance because she thought she could have achieved a better time.
Prior to the 500-meter race, Huang also finished 26th in the women’s 1,500m race on Feb. 7. She still has one more event, the women’s 1,000m race on Feb. 17
One of four Taiwanese athletes competing at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Huang is the only athlete on the squad with prior Olympic experience.
During the Beijing Winter Games opening ceremony, Huang was one of two flagbearers for Taiwan, which is competing in the Olympics under the name Chinese Taipei that it has used in the competitions since 1984.
However, prior to the start of the games, Huang came under heavy attack online from Taiwanese people for wearing a Chinese national team skinsuit in a training video she posted on Jan. 23.
The video was not noticed by netizens until Feb. 3, when it went viral and drew angry retorts, forcing Huang to take it down.
The skater has since apologized, and while the Sports Administration chided Huang for not showing enough awareness of the sensitivity of cross-Taiwan Strait politics, it did not punish or reprimand her and allowed her to compete for Taiwan as planned.
Following the incident, Huang announced on Saturday that she plans to retire from competitive sport after the Beijing Winter Olympics.
“I feel exhausted both physically and mentally,” Huang said in a televised interview.
Originally an inline speed skater, Huang switched to the ice in 2015 and has won gold and silver medals in both disciplines at several international events, including the Four Continents Speed Skating Championships, the Asian Games, and the World Games.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel