Hwang Dae-heon: Top things to know about the new Republic of Korea short track speed skating star
The 22-year-old added to his country's proud history in the 1500m event at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Short Track Speed Skating
Hwang Dae-heon won his first Olympic Winter Games title in the men's 1500m short track speed skating at the Capital Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.
It was a welcome trip to the podium for Hwang, who was disqualified from the 1000m at the semi-final stage at Beijing 2022, following on from his 14th-place finish in the event at PyeongChang 2018.
We bring you the top things you need to know about the Republic of Korea's new short track speed skating star.
Korean 1500m legacy
Hwang is the fourth skater from the Republic of Korea to win the 1500m in six Olympic Games. He was joined by two of his compatriots in the 10-man final, as Lee June-seo finished fifth and Park Jang-hyuk placed seventh.
The 22-year-old from Anyang won in nail-biting fashion, edging in front of Canada's silver medallist Steven Dubois and ROC's bronze medallist Semen Elistratov.
Relatable celebration
After the race, Hwang had a simple, and relatable, way of celebrating his gold medal in mind.
"When I finished, I looked at my phone, there were so many messages, I couldn’t read them all," he said. "Today is the best day in my sports career. When I get back to the village, I am not sure what I will do. Maybe I will eat some great food. I want to share my happiness with coaches and colleagues."
He holds a world record... and it's not even in the 1500m
Hwang set the 1000m world record at the World Cup in Salt Lake City in November 2016, and it's yet to be broken.
Adversity
Hwang has overcome a lot of adversity and suffered several injuries throughout his life, making his achievement at Beijing 2022 all the more remarkable.
He had a back injury in grade nine in middle school that has affected him to this day; he had to withdraw from the 1000m event at the 2021 World Cup in Nagoya, Japan.
He's had three significant injuries since 2017, starting with a right knee injury sustained in October 2017 during a 5000m relay at a World Cup event in Dordrecht. One month later in Shanghai, he injured his left arm and suffered a recurrence of the injury at PyeongChang 2018. He also had to withdraw from both Nagoya and Shanghai two years later after suffering an injury to the sole of his foot.
Where and when to watch Hwang Dae-heon
You can catch Hwang in two more events at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
He will be competing in the men's 500m quarterfinals on Sunday 13 February. Hwang is scheduled to be in quarter-final 3. The event starts at 19:00 Beijing time.
His final act at Beijing 2022 will be in a team event with his colleagues from South Korea, the men's 5000m relay on Wednesday 16 February at 20:44 local time.
From the Opening Ceremony to athlete action, here's where and how you can watch the Winter Games in your region via the Official Olympic Broadcast Partners.
Keep up with all the action in our Live Blog updates throughout Beijing 2022, here.