Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands won the short track women's 1000m gold medal for the second Winter Olympics in a row. The 24-year-old jumped out in front and held the lead for the entire final race.
South Korea's Choi Min-Jeong made a push and grabbed the silver medal. Schulting edged Choi by 0.07 seconds then triumphantly yelled and pumped both fists. Choi was in tears.
"I saw her coming, and when you see Choi coming, you're getting, not scared, but you have to be aware," Schulting told the media. "When she's coming on the outside, she is going for it."
"No matter what the results are, I would be satisfied because I have done my best," Choi added. "I have delivered all that I prepared.”
Hanne Desmet earned the first-ever short track medal for Belgium, taking the bronze. She and Schulting train together and embraced after the result.
Kristen Santos of the United States battled for a podium finish, but a collision with Arianna Fontana of Italy sent the two sliding into the padding. Fontana was called for a lane change causing contact penalty, and Santos finished fourth.
The two bumped just ahead of a turn with Santos in third position, and they went for the same inside path.
Desmet was in fifth when the crash occurred in front of her.
"This is so nice to win the bronze," Desmet said "It was a lot of hard training and patience, and the team around me helped get me here.
"It means a lot for Belgium. We don't get a lot of medals, especially for winter sports."
Schulting became the first Dutch skater to win an Olympic event in short track in 2018. She then claimed titles in the women's 1000m at the 2021 World Championships and in the World Cup standings lead entering the 2022 Winter Olympics.
"For the Netherlands, it means a lot," Schulting said. "I worked so hard for the whole team. I got the gold, but I got the gold for the whole team, and I am super proud."
Three Americans -- Santos, Maame Biney and Corrine Stoddard -- reached the semifinals, but only Santos advanced beyond that.
Stoddard finished third in the Final B, while Biney crossed the line fifth.
Semifinals
Schulting held off Desmet for the win in Semifinal 1, but the Belgian moved on from the second-place spot after a photo finish. Biney started strong but faded down the stretch and dropped from second to fourth during the final three laps.
Santos exploded off the outside to take the lead in the seventh of nine laps during the second semifinal. She held on for the win while Fontana finished second. Choi, who led after the fourth lap, qualified with the best third-place time.
Stoddard crossed the line fourth.
SEE MORE: USA's Kristen Santos leads in 1000m short track semifinal
Quarterfinals
Schulting edged fellow Dutch skater Xandra Velzeboer for the first victory of the day in Heat 1. She set the world record with a time of 1:26.514.
"I became really confident out there after skating a world record," Schulting said. "I was really excited. I was focusing on what I had to do and on my technique and everything."
Stoddard finished in third, 1.398 seconds behind the leader, but she advanced with a qualifying time good for third-place.
Biney claimed a second-place finish behind South Korea's Lee Yu-Bin in Heat 2. Ekaterina Efremenkova of the ROC attempted to pass Biney late in the race, but the American played strong defense to hold her position.
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Fontana won Heat 3, as she took the lead early and held off any possible passes.
Santos took Heat 4 after a late pass of Choi. The South Korean made a move to the front in the fifth lap and Santos followed her closely.
SEE MORE: Suzanne Schulting crushes 1000m short track world record
What's next
The next events in short track are slated for Sunday starting at 6 a.m. ET. The men's 500m competition continues with the quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds. Medals are also at stake in the women's 3000m relay.
Canada, South Korea, the Netherlands and China will compete for those.
Check out the full speed skating schedule here.
