Chinese short track speed skater Ren shines at Nagoya leg of ISU World Cup series

Ren Ziwei (front) of China competes during the men's 1000m final A at the ISU Short Track World Cup 2021/22 in Nagoya, Japan, Oct. 31, 2021. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)

NAGOYA, Japan, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Ren Ziwei won the men's 1,000m gold first and led China to two silver medals at the men's 5,000m and mixed 2,000m relays at the Japan stop of the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating series on Sunday.

The 24-year-old, who also finished second in the 1,500m final, wrapped up the competition with one gold and three silver medals in total, while the Chinese team, which won two gold and one bronze last week in Beijing, collected one gold, three silver and two bronze.

Ren led all the way in the 1,000m race for the victory with one minute 26.297 seconds. Dutchman Itzhak de Laat was second in 1:26.533 and Canada's Pascal Dion third in 1:26.554.

The men's 5,000 meters final was a thrilling affair. China looked sure to take the title before Canada's Steven Dubois caught up with their anchor Li Wenlong at the final corner to win the gold medal in 6:52.272. China was second with 0.013 seconds behind. Hungary placed third in 6:52.386.

In their silver winning campaign in the 5,000m relay at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, Ren missed the final despite helping China win their group competition in the semifinals but with the Beijing Winter Olympics less than 100 days away, he has proved that he will be the man for the big occasion.

The mixed 2,000m title went to Russia in 2:43.202. China, the winner in Beijing last week, finished second with 2:43.460 and Hungary took third with 2:43.568.

America's Kristen Santos won the women's 1,000m race in 1:30.013, followed by two Dutchwomen Suzanne Schulting in 1:30.077 and Xandra Velzeboer in 1:30.089.

The contest in Japan is the second of four stages of the qualifying competition for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. The next two stages will be in Hungary and the Netherlands.