Winter Olympics: historic first sliding medal for China on day seven as Shaun White says goodbye and Hong Kong’s Sidney Chu fulfils his dream
- Yan Wengang turns in an impressive final run to win bronze in the men’s skeleton, having gone into the last heat in fourth place
- Three-time snowboard champion White bids an emotional farewell after competing in his final Winter Olympics
Last hurrahs, returns to form and Olympic debuts, there was something for everyone on Friday at the Beijing Games, where a snowboard legend bid the sport goodbye, the spectre of Russian doping reared its ugly head once again and China won a first sliding medal in the skeleton.
Sidney Chu’s first appearance at a Games was over in a flash, and unfortunately the 44.857 seconds it took him to complete his short-track speedskating 500m heat was not nearly fast enough.
The Hongkonger’s time in the eighth race of the evening was some four seconds behind defending gold medallist Wu Dajing and Italy’s Pietro Sighel.
Chu was up against it from the start and never looked like keeping pace with the trio in front of him, and his position at the end came courtesy of the Netherlands’ Dylan Hoogerwerf, who spun out as the race reached its conclusion.
Afterwards, Chu said just competing alongside Wu was “already an incredible achievement”. “Although I didn’t break my personal best or perform to my ultimate abilities, I’m still very satisfied,” he said.