2018 PyeongChang: South Korean man and Japanese woman win Golds in perhaps the Winter Olympics’ most exciting new event
|South Korean speed skating legend, Lee Seung-Hoon, won the mass start to the delight of the home crowd.
“As the first mass start I feel very happy to do this in front of my home crowd and I am honoured to get so much praise with this medal,” Lee said to the media. “In the mass start it is like a dream to get gold and I can’t put it into words.”
Lee entered the race as the favorite having won the mass start world title in 2016.
He has now won 5 Olympic medals from 2010 through 2018.
Lee was able to win due to the help of his teammate Chung Jae-Won. Chung finished eighth, but was able to set the pace, giving Lee a chance to win in the final lap.
“My teammate helped me a lot. Because of that I was able to do a good job in the sprint at the end,” Lee said after the race.
Nana Takagi is the very first mass start Olympic champion.
The mass start is made its Olympic debut in PyeongChang, after being tested at the junior Olympics.
Source: Lee Seung-Hoon makes late push to win mass start gold | NBC Olympics